British Cranswick has own herd of over 900,000 pigs
British pork and poultry producer Cranswick continuously expands its own pig herd. ‘’We now have at any given moment some 900,000 pigs on the ground, which are reared across a mixture of premium outdoor and high-quality indoor units,” Cranswick’s chief executive officer Adam Couch says in his comments on the interim results.
In the 6 months until September 30th, the first half of the current financial year, Cranswick has increased its finished pig numbers by 18% compared to the same period last year to 34,000 pigs a week. ‘’We are now the country’s largest pig producer and well over 50% self-sufficient in pigs relative to our processing capacity. We will continue to invest in our pig farming operations to ensure that we can supply the right quality and quantity of pigs to meet the need of our strategic retail customers.”
About Cranswick
Cranswick was formed in 1975 by farmers in East Yorkshire to produce animal feed and has since evolved into a business that produces a range of high quality, predominantly fresh food, including fresh pork, poultry, convenience, gourmet products and pet food. The company, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange since 1985, operates in all areas of pig production, from breeding and nursery through to finishing. ‘’We are committed to investing in our farms and in the health of our animals; as we strive for continual improvement.’’
Pork operations
Although poultry is rapidly growing, fresh pork still counts for a quarter of Group revenue of almost £1,33 million. ‘’We continue to invest in and grow our pig farming and feed milling operations. We increased the size, scale and quality of our pig herd during the period through ongoing organic investment and the acquisition of a 4,000 sow herd from a long-standing existing supplier of RSPCA Assured outdoor bred pigs, based in East Anglia. Our self-sufficiency in pig feed also increased, milling to 19% following the acquisition of a mill in the prior year,’’ the company says.
All 3 primary pork processing sites, mainly in the port city of Hull, lifted production volumes year-on-year with the total number of UK pigs processed across the sites increasing by 9.5% compared to the same period last year. A proportion of this additional throughput drove higher revenue through retail and wholesale channels, with the balance traded internally to fuel growth in the added-value gourmet and convenience ranges.
