STEPS are being taken by the British Pig Executive (BPEX) to gain British producers access to the world's biggest market for pork. A delegation comprising BPEX Chairman Stewart Houston, Chief Executive Mick Sloyan and International Manager Peter Hardwick is visiting Beijing at the end of the month (Apr). The trip follows on from initial work done when BPEX hosted part of a visit by two Chinese Government vets who were shown the whole production chain - breeding firms, producers, abattoirs and processors. Both vets commented favourably on the exceptional quality of traceabilty within the British pig meat supply chain as well as the protocols and procedures within abattoirs. Stewart said: "China is the single biggest market for pig meat in the world. It is not one to which we have had access because we have not had a formal trading relationship with China. "Not only is it the largest single market in the world but China has one of the fastest growing economies which means people are eating more pork. "It is also attractive because they tend to put a high value on parts of the carcase which we under-value. "The objective is to build on the contacts we made at the World Pork Congress last year. "We want to explain to the Chinese industry and particularly the officials at the Ministry of Agriculture, the safety, security and quality of British pig meat and breeding stock. "We are supporting the work of Defra which is seeking to gain export certification and we are also working with the China Britain Business Council and the Department of Trade and Industry." While in China, the delegation will be visiting Shineway Foods, a huge pork processor. The firm's President, Wan Long, was a speaker at last year's World Pork Congress. They will also be talking to industry organisations and Government officials, including representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture. In addition there are plans for a reception in conjunction with the British Embassy in Beijing.
