Endangered by orientations taken by European institutions regarding the optional quality term ‘mountain product’, actors of the mountain pig supply chain in France organised on November 15th a press conference aiming at alerting media on the situation.
The conference led to a wide media coverage of actors worries. These represent 800 producers, 700 000 pigs, 5 slaughterhouses, 110 million euros of yearly turnover and 1500 jobs. French authorities invested in the last 5 years around 5 million euros in the structuring of this supply chain, which generates today a lot of interest from retailers. The collective brand “Origine Montagne” launched in January 2013 is booming and contracts are on the verge of being signed with several retailers.
Discussions are still on-going between French authorities and the European Commission on the adaptation of requirements regarding the mountain origin of feedstuffs fed to pigs. The European Commission, who was proposing to apply strictly the rules foreseen in the regulation of feedstuffs coming essentially from the mountains (50%), has already moved and may accept to introduce a derogation taking into account difficulties to produce this feedstuffs in mountain areas allowing to lower the percentage of mountain feed to 30%, according to declarations of Commissioner Ciolos during a journey in the Lot area in France. Below this, the Commission considers that consumers are misled.
Mountain Pig producers explain that mountain cereals are not available in sufficient quantities to meet such a requirement. They would need indeed 71 hectares of cereals on average per mountain pig breeding farm to respect the 50% rule. Mountain pig breeders have, at most, 20 hectares. They also argue that consumers surveyed in the context of marketing studies conducted to develop their brand did not mention feed at all. Their interest is instead on supporting smaller less intensive farms which are crucial to the vitality of the mountain economy which is dear to them.
6 December 2013
