APPEAL FROM THE DELI MEATS AND PORK SECTOR: COMMODITY CRISIS INCREASES PRESSURE ON COMPANY MARGINS, PRICE RISES INEVITABLE
Concern for the future of the cured meats sector, hit by increases in the cost of raw materials and utilities, was the focus of the ASSICA (Association of Meat and Cured Meat Industries) conference held at Cibus on 5 May, which asked experts from the world of economics to take stock of the situation, to understand what strategies might be needed to withstand yet another tsunami hitting entrepreneurs.
The President of ASSICA, Ruggero Lenti, opened the debate by focusing on companies in the pork and cured meat sector that are facing a very significant and unprecedented increase in costs at this time, starting from energy prices, which have quadrupled compared to last year, to the costs of ancillary and packaging materials such as plastic and cartons, and ending with transport. To these costs was also added the increase in pork and other meat raw materials that form the basis for the production of sausages. “The increase in input costs is undoubtedly a problem that affects the entire national agri-food industry, but the pork supply chain, in particular slaughterhouses and charcuterie factories, is particularly affected by this dynamic and sees its margins shrinking alarmingly. The supply chain is also facing another important factor in the loss of profitability: the presence of African Swine Fever (ASF) on the Italian mainland. A fact that, since January 2022, has led to the loss of around 20 million euros per month in exports, exposing companies to the risk of further damage if the veterinary disease, which does not affect humans, were to spread to the areas with the highest density of pig breeding and processing companies: an eventuality that would jeopardise the very possibility of producing, among others, the prized PDOs of Parma and San Daniele, the symbol of Italian-made charcuterie around the world. Without recognition of adequate price list increases, it will be difficult for companies to continue operating. It is therefore necessary to get all the players in the pig supply chain, from the feeders to the large-scale retail trade, to sit down around a table to find a solution together that will make it possible to overcome this difficult phase, safeguarding the margins of the companies and at the same time consumption, which is seriously threatened by the erosion of families’ purchasing power.
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