Crisis discussions are underway after the South Australian meat processor JBS announced that it would stop exploiting his Seven Point Pork (SPP) processing facility in Port Wakefield at the beginning of January next year.
About 270 jobs will be lost, including 160 of people who live in the regional council area.
JBS Pork Division Chief Operating Officer Edison Alvares said that the decision came after a reduction in a considerable number of pigs of one of the most important strategic partners of the company.
“Due to the considerable number of pigs involved and the unavailability of replacement pigs, the Port Wakefield facility in the short term is simply no longer viable as a pork processing facility,” said Alvares.
JBS will stop operating seven -point pork processing facility at the beginning of January. ((ABC Mildura-Swan Hill: Tamara Clark))
“We recognize the impact and concerns that this decision has on our appreciated workforce, their families and the local community.
“We will continue to work hard to explore business opportunities that can support the use of activities in the Port Wakefield processing facility in the future.”
JBS said that it would also meet all the obligations it had for his workforce and his suppliers.
A Coles spokesperson said that the company switched some pork processing to other states to reflect the growing customer’s demand.
“South -Australia will remain our largest state supplier of pork -and we want to reassure the community that we are committed to supplying South Australian pork for South Australians,” they said in a statement.
They said that Coles would expand his partnership with Big River Pork in Murray Bridge from next year.
“We believe that this evolution in our supply chain will provide long -term benefits in the long term for customers, farmers and the environment by creating a more streamlined and efficient pig chain, while working on the growing demand in Australia,” they said.
Closure hits hard
Federal Liberal Member for Gray, Tom Venning, said it was “very disappointing” to hear that 270 employees would lose their jobs in January.
He said it was also disappointing for suppliers who were already dealing with drought.
“It rubs salt in a year in a year that is very, very dry,” he said ABC Radio Adelaide.
“For mixed farmers, the pigs are the only win they make, so it is very disappointing.”
Tom Venning says that the closure will have flow effects for the community. ((ABC News: Arj Ganesan))
Mr Venning said that he had searched for further clarification from Coles around the decision, but said that “reading between the lines seems as if the production of South Australia is going to Victoria to be closer to the market” because the costs of doing business were higher in South Australia.
According to the Seven Point Pork website, the slaughterhouse had a “long -term relationship” with 20 farms throughout the country.
While the pig production will continue in Murray Bridge Plant, Big River Pork, Mr Venning said that there would be less South -Australian pork in the long term, while Victoria sustained production.
As the most important employer for Port Wakefield and the surrounding cities, Mr Venning said that the closure of the slaughterhouses would have “enormous consequences” for the wider community.
Huge demand for pork
Pork Sa Committee Chairman and Murray Bridge Pig Farmer, Greg Davis, said that pork supplies were in Australia in Australia, he did not expect producers to be hit by the closure of seven points too much to find new markets.
Greg Davis says there is a big demand for pork. ((ABC News: Claire Campbell))
“I don’t think it will be an too much problem,” he said.
“We think we have the capacity in South Australia to handle the processing of all pigs that South -Australia produces.”
However, he said that there would be extra freight costs for some producers.
“That is unfortunately an extra costs for those guys,” he said.
“Unfortunately, there is not much alternative …
“But we are very lucky, this year we are very lucky that the prices of the pork that we receive reflect our costs.
“We are doing well, but it’s hard to go.
“We would like to see some rain … and we feel for our agriculture counterparts who are making a difficult time at the moment.”
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