Tony's Talk - PIGS are FLYING - higher and higher!

November 1, 2019 Robert Fernandes

For the 1.4 billion people living in mainland China pork has long been a staple food. As a result, approximately 50% of the World’s pigs reside there. In 2018 outbreaks of the deadly (to pigs) ‘African Swine Fever’, or ASF were first reported. During 2019 this air-borne disease has spread rapidly to the extent that nearly 50% of Chinese pigs have been led to emergency slaughter to try to contain this ASF.

This has caused Chinese pork prices to have risen by 57% to date over the costs of last year. As demand overwhelms supply Chinese traders are literally scouring the planet for pork supplies from other pig breeding nations. In the UK and across Europe we are beginning to see prices of pork and bacon increase. This price pressure obviously affects the manufacturers of our top quality 42nd Street Classic pork sausages and is evident in the current minor increase of the cost per sausage. However, this has been unavoidable in our wish to maintain quality and consistency. Sausage products manufactured from cheaper cuts such as bacon rind and ‘mince’ and using alternative proteins from chicken meat will be less affected. Sadly, there is no quick fix for this disaster. If the Chinese outbreak were brought under control now it is estimated that it would take around 5 years to build up their pig stock to its former level. Worryingly, isolated outbreaks of ASF have been reported in Bulgaria and the Ukraine recently.

ASF does not affect humans fortunately but we do not need it spreading across Europe. Let us hope that the winds keep blowing from the West! Whatever happens we will maintain the reputation and quality of our renowned 42^nd Street Classic Sausages whilst facing these difficulties of supply. Talking of ‘quality’ it is interesting to note the degree of purity contained in our Q Salt tubs! Our salt is mined from beneath the Cheshire plains and has purity levels of between 99.7% and 99.9% after treatment. This is considerably higher than can be attained by the various expensive ‘Sea Salts’ beloved by gourmets and celebrity chefs. Q Salt is also free of the micro-plastics which are currently polluting our Oceans. You will also find that our Q Salt goes much further than most other brands. The fine particle size allows it to adhere to food instead of bouncing off as salt of a larger particle size does. This all goes to prove that -It’s All Down to the Ingredients

Everyone here at Whitley’s wishes you an enjoyable Festive Season and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2020!