France: The Agriculture Minister calls for new types of contract for the pig sector

The French Agriculture Minister, Stephane Le Foll, invited yesterday the different stakeholders in the pig sector to work in the search for new contractual arrangements in this sector.

Using this form of business relationship must be voluntary but clear. Thus, the stakeholders (from the production to distribution of animal feeds) agreed in previous meetings on the need to make the range of potentially relevant contractual tools for the swine industry available to all interested parties.

The minister reiterated that competitiveness must also include a better organization of the whole sector, as well as working on improving production costs incurred in all the different links in the chain through the responsibility pact.

To promote the development of recruitment in the pig sector, Le Foll offers all parties involved a working document aiming to lay the groundwork for reflection and to encourage experimentation with new types of contracts that can help to:

• give prospects and visibility to producers on production,
• ensure the required supply of quality transformers. This is essential to increase the supply of French meat to processing industries,
• protect all stakeholders in the pork industry  at all levels in terms of price volatility.

Given the existence of different types of contracts for marketing both pigs and animal feed or carcass cuts, it is also important to share successful experiences.
To that end, an online electronic questionnaire has been launched addressed to all identified stakeholders in the sector, which will to help establish a Recruitment Good Practice Guide in the pig sector.