AHDB’s Pork Sector Council will look closely at the current balance between producer and processor levies, according to its new chair, Glen Nimmo.
The total pig levy was raised by 20% to £1.26/pig in April, with producers contributing £1.02p/pig and a processors 24p/pig.
The processor-producer split was one of the biggest issues raised during the industry-wide discussion that AHDB held around the levy rise. Some producers suggested processors should be paying more, particularly in light of the decision to scrap or reduce some on-farm initiatives, as pork levy spend was re-allocated under the three overriding priorities of exports, marketing and reputation.
Speaking to Pig World at the British Pig & Poultry Fair, Mr Nimmo, who took up the role in April, said re-balancing the levy was ‘very much part of the ongoing discussion within AHDB at the moment’.
“It is a very live discussion. There are clearly sensitivities in trying to make changes to it,” he said. “Any legislative changes needed should be relatively uncontentious, but how that then translates into what the numbers are is going to take some thinking about.
“But it is definitely one of the things the sector council knows it has to get on with and consider.”
Better engagement
Mr Nimmo spoked to a lot of levy payers at the event and joked that, for every five levy payers he had encountered, he received five different opinions on AHDB and what it needs to do going forward.
But he said he was pleased with the ‘unanimity’ of support for the three priorities the board is focused on. “There is very little that is contentious there,” he said.
However, he acknowledged that there is room for improvement in how AHDB engages with levy payers. “Where I hear concerns is the extent to which the council has engaged with levy payers and that ability to demonstrate the benefits of the levy,” he said.
He suggested that engagement with levy payers could be improved by being able to demonstrate numerically how the levy benefits levy payers.
He added: “I am clearly a relatively unconventional appointment, given that for the last 30 years I have not been part of this industry. But I can bring commercial discipline and a higher strategic level of insight without being waylaid by minutiae and, ultimately, help ensure AHDB adds value to the sector.”
- You can read more from Mr Nimmo about his thoughts on his first few weeks in the role HERE.