A word from the Pork council chair

It’s been a brutal time for the pork sector, with the combination of Brexit and Covid creating a perfect storm, followed by hugely inflated costs of production resulting from the war in Ukraine. Supporting levy payers through these unprecedented times is more crucial than ever.

Despite these daunting challenges, we can take great pride in England’s pork industry. With producers and processors operating to exceptional standards, British pork is preferred by most UK retailers, and there is demand from almost 100 other countries too.

With such strong demand comes strong competition to supply. It’s never been more important to act together – and that is where your levy comes in.

It is vital for the levy to deliver the very best value. In May 2022, producers and processors representing over half of all pigs farmed and three-quarters of those processed, told us how they wanted their levy spent via AHDB’s Shape the Future vote. This turnout was an absolute credit to an industry that was under enormous strain at the time. It is symptomatic of the true grit, hope and determination that we need for the future.

In the Shape the Future vote, you gave clear messages that your sector council has taken on board to direct the work of AHDB over the next five years.

This resulted in the three key themes of work below, which are detailed in this plan:

• Marketing
• Exports
• Reputation

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Shape the Future vote. This plan for the next five years is not the end of the conversation – rather the beginning.

As we all know, we will need to show agility during these turbulent times. The Pork Sector Council is your ever-present voice within AHDB, and we want to hear your views. All the ways you can contact the sector council and the AHDB team are at the end of the sector plan main page. We look forward to hearing from you.

Mike Sheldon, 
Pork Sector Council Chair

Purpose of the levy

The Pork levy empowers all levy payers to act together to tackle challenges and opportunities that cannot, or will not, be addressed by individuals or commercial organisations alone.

The levy rate has stayed the same for over a decade. And given the anticipated reduction in pig numbers next year, the total levy income will reduce. In addition, inflation and changes in AHDB’s VAT status (meaning that we can no longer reclaim it) have all combined to reduce the available funds (from £9.7m this financial year to a projected £7.9m in 2023–24) for the sector council to invest on your behalf. There is no current plan to increase levy rates while the industry remains under such strain, but the sector council will seek your views about where levy rates should head in the longer term.