Update from the Pork Sector Council Chair (July 2026)

Following the recent sector council meeting, Glen Nimmo shares an update on supply and demand challenges, promoting British pork and the recruitment and retention of staff, as well as upcoming opportunities to join the Pork Sector Council.

No one in our industry reading this update will be under any illusions that your sector council’s most recent meeting, held on 1 July, was set against a challenging backdrop for the sector.

Increases in domestic pig meat supply – more, and bigger, pigs available for slaughter – have further pressured a market where the marginal buyer is taking their reference price from an exceptionally depressed European market.

Contrary to many opinions I’ve heard over the last few months, AHDB’s figures show domestic consumption of British pork continues to grow, as do export volumes into international markets.

Yet, the extra supply of meat over and above this must find a home somewhere; and price is the most effective lever.

It was observed across the sector council that the current dichotomy between cost of production transactions and market price transactions is at a level few have seen before, if ever.

All of this is compounded by intense uncertainty over the future demand/supply picture for pigs in the UK as recently terminated contracts come to an end and processing capacity in the country is restructured to meet the needs of the individual companies concerned.

The best we can hope for is that if the current challenges have been caused by a relatively small increase in supply meeting inelastic demand, it should only take modest reductions in supply to get the market back to equilibrium.

It is even more crucial that consumers, and the retail customers who serve them, remain committed to British pork as a healthy and affordable staple of the weekly shop.

Marketing and advertising have been an increasingly important focus for your sector council over the last two years.

Not only has the council committed additional resources to TV advertising and social media marketing, but it has also increased the impact of every penny spent by improving planning and coordination between AHDB, the processors and the retailers to ensure that every advertising burst delivers maximum benefit for levy payers.

Leaning into this success, the sector council has approved funding for an additional TV advertising campaign for summer 2027. This will allow us to showcase British pork ahead of the important barbecue season.

It also means that in the 13 months spanning October 2026 to October 2027, British pork will have four distinct TV advertising campaigns across England, keeping it front of mind for consumers and retailers.

The current environment is undoubtedly tough, but we also need to keep our eye on the prize that British pork can displace other much more expensive protein options for consumers by inspiring them with easy, tasty and affordable meal ideas.

I have said many times in my updates to levy payers that projecting and promoting British pork to domestic and international consumers is only part of our mission.

We also need to protect the fundamentals that allow us to generate – even now – a deserved premium for our product.

A crucial plank in this narrative is the fantastic environmental progress made over the last decade and more, as evidenced by the recent launch of the Pork Environmental Roadmap.

However, the pig sector must continue to look forward, and recent scrutiny over some consequences of outdoor breeding will need an industry response.

The sector council strongly endorses AHDB’s plans to act as a facilitator and coordinator for the industry, bringing clear-eyed analysis and scrutiny over the data and proposing proportionate actions if they are required.

Over the two years I have been Chair of the Pork Sector Council, voices calling on us to engage on labour challenges on farm and in factory have steadily grown. Today, virtually every levy payer I speak to highlights the ability to attract and retain quality employees as a key challenge in their business.

As such, the sector council and AHDB commissioned a report into the skills and training needs of the industry earlier this year. The subsequent report put forward numerous recommendations to improve levy payers’ access to skilled and motivated candidates, for example by enhancing training provision, career development pathways and routes into the industry.

Central to the recommendations was a message that working in the pig and pork sector had to be perceived as a career, not just a job.

I am delighted to report that my sector council colleague Becca Spink has offered to lead an industry working group into turning the report and its recommendations into a practicable action plan.

It is important to state at this stage that this will not be an AHDB deliverable. This is on everyone who wants to resolve this challenge for themselves, and the industry at large.

The contents of this missive have, almost necessarily, touched on big and difficult topics. That is the space we inhabit today.

However, while we may feel like we are entering uncharted waters, that does not mean that they are unnavigable. This industry is no stranger to excessive cyclical pressures and the sector council is committed to finding the right people to deal with the pressures as they arise.

Being part of your Pork Sector Council is an opportunity to help shape decisions that can sometimes bring short-term mitigation for these challenges and sometimes build a platform for gains that will come over the much longer term. Above all, it is chance to show that investment in the industry can benefit everyone individually.

Over the coming months, AHDB will open recruitment for a number of applications to replace sector council colleagues who have come to the end of their terms. We are going to look for as broad a range of talents and experience that we can.

If you believe that you can bring experience and counsel that can deliver specific insight and expertise, while retaining the ability to understand the context across the whole industry, then we want to hear from you. My departing colleagues have brought that in spades, and I am grateful.

No pressure, then.