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International News
The pandemic will continue to shake international poultry markets for the next six months. But it will also lead to some permanent changes.
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Remote working here to stay
foodservice and wholesale markets, and the next six months, but the COVID-19 changes. There will be a permanent shift to more online grocery shopping, with Tesco change poultry markets forever, with food European poultry markets have been show foodservice sales will be down 10% through food service led to a sharp drop in prices. There are still big challenges in balancing supply and demand. The gradual is still down significantly. According to Nan-Dirk Mulder, senior analyst of animal protein at Rabobank, across Europe, COVID- will push structural change in the poultry industry in Europe, market forever with 75% of companies shift away from the food-to-go market, lunchtime restaurants, and into fresh,
African Swine Fever drives poultry consumption
Over the whole year, there is likely to be a US. Global trade is very competitive and volatile, with most import markets reducing volumes. “Trade into ASFaffected markets like China, the Philippines, and Vietnam has become more important, and this raises risks as local production recovers. focused on China, with export volumes expanding quickly, but with price and the shift from out-of-home to at home will to some extent remain permanent. In a recent AVEC webinar, Mulder said the shift to remote working will alter the poultry “Balancing local supply with volatile demand will be the big challenge for global producers, and the experience so far this year shows how difficult this is,” says Mulder. Differences in expected poultry production growth are bigger than ever, ranging from 15% growth in China to 5% in Vietnam, contrasting with -8% in Thailand and more than -10% in India.
East Yorkshire poultry business creates new role to drive improvement
2020 has been a volatile year in the global poultry industry, with huge disruption to the increased demand from retail. This volatility likely to continue for at least pandemic will also lead to more permanent predicting demand will be up to 1.8 million shops per week by the end of the year, compared to 600,000 in January. In addition, the breakthrough of remote working will service outlets catering to office workers becoming redundant. disrupted like never before with food service demand down 40% in 2020 compared to 2019. Predicted sales for 2021 by Rabobank compared to 2019. Across Europe, the sudden drop in demand easing of restrictions since July led to some increase in foodservice demand, although it The forthcoming recession is likely to benefit sales of poultrymeat and eggs, as consumers tradedownfrommoreexpensiveproteins. surveyed saying some staff would continue to work remotely. This will drive a permanent premium products.
slight increase in global poultry production (+0.8% YOY). This is the result of poultry expansion in China and Vietnam – where African swine fever (ASF) has reduced pork availability – and also from expansion in the The rest of the world will be operating in an environment of shrinking production. There is a global shift from foodservice to retail, benefiting retail-focused companies. “Exporters like Brazil, the US, and Russia are
continuous
concessions,” according to Mulder. Prices are highly pressured for all cuts, especially breast meat, legs, and feet. East Yorkshire poultry supplier Soanes Poultry has promoted from within to fill a new role that will help to support its growing business. The company has promoted Petra Kdr to the new position of Continuous Improvement Officer. Kdr joined Soanes Poultry in 2012 and has worked in a quality improvement and primary processing roles before her latest move. “My experience in operations from slaughter to packing will be very useful in this new role as I support the Senior Management team in their bid for continuous quality improvement,” she said. Soanes Poultry's managing director, Nigel Upson said: “Petra has been a valued member of the Soanes team for nearly a decade and her well deserved promotion comes as we enter the final phase of a two year expansion plan that will increase production by 20% and create 15 new jobs. “Petra will be working on new product development, project management and efficiency studies as we continue to grow our business.”
Women Under Represented In Meat Industry Workforce - New Report
New report shows that women make up 36 percent of meat industry work force, 14 percent of board-level director positions and 5 percent of executive roles. A new international report has for the first time established how many women are working within the meat sector. It found that women make up only 36 percent of the meat industry workforce and are under-represented at every level above junior positions, holding just 14 percent of board-level director roles and just 5 percent of chief executive roles. The independent report, commissioned by Meat Business Women, also identified several "broken rungs" in the career ladder that prevent women in the meat sector from advancing to more senior roles. It suggests women find it easier to pursue careers in Marketing, Finance, HR, R&D and Quality fields – however those disciplines still rarely act as stepping stones into the most senior positions. Meat Business Women founder Laura R y a n s a y s a l a c k of g e n d e r representation is putting at risk the future success and sustainability of the meat sector. “This report should be a wake-up call for the meat sector. Our findings show just how much the meat industry is lagging behind other sectors, including grocery, when it comes to creating workplaces that attract and promote female talent. In doing so, it is failing to reap the rewards that come from creating and nurturing a diverse workforce. Ryan continues: “It's been asserted that companies which have executive committees with female membership of at least 33 percent have a net profit margin over ten times greater than those companies with no women at that level. Fundamentally businesses with diverse workforces are more profitable and have better share prices”. The new report, which draws on survey data from the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and the USA, highlights that the lack of formalised mentoring, networking opportunities and senior female role models is a particular source of frustration for women in the sector. The report finds that visible role models who lead in an aspirational way help attract and retain talent within an organisation. The report flags though that by having relatively low numbers of women in senior roles the meat industry gives the impression that leadership positions are either not available or not suited to women. Ryan says: “The message we're hearing from women in the meat industry is loud and clear: they love the sector, they're excited about the opportunities it offers and they want to help it succeed, but certain barriers exist. Together industry and Meat Business Women can break those barriers down.” “The good news from our research is that there are lots of practical steps companies can take to improve gender representation and ensure female talent can thrive. It is our hope that the sector uses the insights from this report to better understand how it can create a diverse and inclusive workforce. Meat Business Women is already partnering with a significant number of organisations towards that goal.” Meat Business Women intends to use the findings of this report to continue its support of the meat industry through a portfolio of initiatives such as mentoring programmes, networking events, development toolkits and other resources. Meat Business Women was launched in 2015 with a goal of assuring sustainability of the meat sector by attracting and retaining the best possible talent. The organisation now has more than 5,500 members in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and the USA and is recognised by the United Nations as a contributor to their Sustainable Development Goals.
