February 28, 2008
Increased Pork Production: Blessing or Dilemma?

RONALD SUAREZ RIVAS

Strange but true: the increase in pork production has become a real problem in western Pinar del Rio province.

CARLOS PAGES HAS 150 ANIMALS THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN SENT TO THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE IN DECEMBER.

Over the last two years Pinar del Rio has been breaking its historical record for pork production, established in 1990. According to specialists the 9,600 tons produced at that time could be doubled in 2008.

Production has reached a point in which the industry has not been able to keep up.

OVERWEIGHT ANIMALS REPRESENT ADDITIONAL FOOD EXPENDITURES, WHICH PRODUCERS CAN’T AFFORD.

Since there are no other mechanisms to resolve the problem, the excessive amount of animals at slaughterhouses has led to a freeze in purchasing. Many breeders have pigs stuck in their corrals and can’t sell them. Although part of them already negotiated their herds with the Pork Enterprise, the latter had no other choice but to breach their contracts.

Paradoxically, the jump in production has had little effect with the daily life of Pinar del Río residents in their homes, nor at restaurants, cafeterias, and butcher’s shops.

The worst thing is that the situation casts doubt on what has been affirmed for a long time now, that the high price of food at agricultural and livestock markets is because supply is inferior to demand, and that the only remedy is increased production. Nonetheless, the price of pork remains the same.

THE GENESIS OF REVIVAL

Everything began a few years ago, when President Fidel Castro expressed the need for the country to be self-sufficient in pork meat in order to reduce imports.

The idea seemed beneficial from all angles. Besides the revitalization of the sector, the generation of jobs, and the prevention of dependence on the international market, the fact of producing “at home” presently represents a saving of hundreds of dollars per ton.

Several agreements were established between pork enterprises and producers, which had a common ground: the industry would supply part of the fodder and offer encouraging prices in exchange for animals ready for slaughter. And there was even a mechanism to buy pigs from individuals who raised them with their own resources in their backyards and without contracts.

The explosion began in 2005, with 5,166 tons of meat, which was doubled in 2006 and tripled in 2007.

THE PROBLEM OF OVERPRODUCTION

The situation affects big producers like Carlos Pages —with 150 animals that should have been sent to the slaughterhouse in December—, but also medium-size producers and even those breeding them in their backyards.

The Pork Enterprise, the only state entity authorized to stockpile pork, has been given the red light. “The three slaughterhouses in the province are snowed under in terms of their capacity,” affirms its director, Juan Carlos Dominguez. In figures, this would represent an average of some 900 tons per month, but in January the delivery was 1,446.

Is it that we have reached a point in which pork meat is not needed?

Aside from that infrastructure, there are places in almost all municipalities for the slaughtering of animals, the destination of which are stores, restaurants and cafeterias, and State Agricultural and Livestock markets (MAE), but none of them consumed the quotas assigned to them last month.

Roberto Trujillo, director for stockpiles in the province, says there’s another explanation: “Prices have to be reduced; we can’t say we have covered the population’s demands because the meat is too expensive.”

However, only the price paid to producers has decreased, while those of sales to the population remain the same. That decision adds fuel to the fire, because it doesn’t encourage consumption and make intermediaries take advantage of the situation to sell at a lower price than the state markets.

Despite the country’s efforts to encourage pork production, the truth is that at present, an incredible amount of speculators are benefiting from that decision, and it’s straying from the State’s program, comments Trujillo.

His own workplace is an example, where January’s sales barely reached half of that of December, due to the proliferation of illegal sales points.

WAY OUTS

The worst of all risks would be the loss of this intensive production movement due to the lack of incentives. And the first symptoms have begun to be observed. Carlos’ corrals are occupied by animals that are not worth his while. They eat excessively, they don’t yield enough meat, and they don’t let him move on to new breeding.

The same thing happens to Maximino García, who was forced to eliminate three of his five breeding animals, because 500 pound pigs he can’t sell devour all the feed he can get.

If this tendency spreads, we can expect a downturn in production over the next few months. “Production has already been brought to a halt,” admits Eduardo Candelaria, deputy director of the Pork Enterprise’s Financial Department.

At the same time, the poor supply of pork in the distribution network to neighborhood stores, butcher shops, the food service industry and state markets doesn’t look promising.

In light of this situation, the Pinar del Rio Provincial Administrative Council has called for emergency measures. However, a decision to lower the price to the population is outside their hands as it can only be authorized at the national level.

Meanwhile, the words of current President Raul Castro, pronounced last year at the end of the July 26 celebrations, are still in the air: “It’s necessary to work with a critical and creative spirit, avoiding stagnation and schematics,”

If things are not done like Raul said, obstacles will continue blocking production from advancing.

http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/2008/02/27/nacional/artic01.html

Pinar del Río

El contradictorio aumento de la producción porcina

Si no se hace como él ha dicho, las trabas seguirán frenando el desarrollo productivo.