Pig producers from across the north and north-east were given a tour around improved slaughtering facilities at the Brechin pig abattoir yesterday.
The new and improved facility, which is run by Quality Pork Ltd (QPL), officially opened yesterday following a £10million redevelopment over the past two years.
QPL, which was set up in 2014, is a farmers’ co-operative from a collaboration between Scottish Pig Producers, Scotlean and Tulip.
It took over the Brechin abattoir from AP Jess in 2014 and since then has set about improving facilities with the help of a £2.7million grant from the Scottish Government’s food processing, marketing and collaboration scheme.
Improvements at the site, which employs 58 people and is currently killing 4,500 pigs every week, include a new gas stunning system, new lorry wash facilities, improved drains and walling works in the dressing line and a new refrigeration system.
QPL chairman Roderic Bruce, who runs a 350-sow unit at Logierieve, Udny, yesterday said the future was bright for the Scottish pig sector.
He said: “A huge amount of work has been undertaken to secure the long-term future of the Scottish pig indsutry and this abattoir is a critical part of that plan.
“We believe that QPL will play a big part in reversing the decline of the Scottish pig herd. It frustrates me seeing so much grain from the north-east going to Europe and coming back here as pigmeat. We can reverse that.”
Tulip’s agriculture director, Andrew Saunders, said the Brechin abattoir was a great example of what could be achieved through a collaboration between farmers and processors.
He said QPL hoped to increase its kill to 5,500 pigs per week and it would also start processing cull sows in the next few weeks.
The co-op would also continue to develop relationships with retailers to get Scottish pork products stocked in stores – a recent example being the introduction of the Scottish ‘Irresistible’ bacon range to the Co-op.
The QPL abattoir has the capacity to kill 7,500 pigs and 300 sows every week.
QPL also yesterday launched a recruitment drive to get farmers to join the co-op for a one-off fee of £1.