MEMBERS UPDATE – 9TH DECEMBER 2022

Membership Fees 2023

Going forward, as the country tries to recover from economic difficulties we are conscious of the challenging trading conditions that our members are experiencing.
It is our intention to hold the trade fair on Sunday 14th May 2023 at the Dewar's Ice rink, this is provisionally booked. We will hold the Butcher's Wars competition as well as a revamped “World Haggis Championship”. The Pork Sausage Championship will also be held in Perth on that day. We will also hold “Make it with Haggis” and “Speciality Burger” evaluations on 5th April 2023, announcing the results on the day of the trade fair.

Our operating costs with the Trade Fair are likely to see an increase since it was last held in 2019 it is also clear that if we intend to continue to offer the same level of services then we require to keep a close eye on income and expenditure until we see how the recovery pans out and we will play our part in that on behalf of our members.

However, energy costs, travel costs and operating costs are, like every business, increasing going forward into the new financial year.

We believe that an increase in membership fees at this time would not be beneficial to the members. The Annual General Meeting past the motion not to increase fees from the current level in 2023.

We will continue to explore all possible opportunities to grow the membership and corporate membership and that we try and cut costs where possible.

The finance committee are of the opinion that £340 per year for member shops and £105 per branch shop represents good value and works out at less than £1.00 per day which, given the amount of information and guidance issued to all our members over the last 12 months, is a small price to pay for this level of service to be maintained throughout the changing months and years ahead.

There is no proposal to increase the corporate membership fee. The corporate members always fully support us in our evaluations and events such as the trade fair, Butcher Wars and other competitions.

QMS Monthly Report

Courtesy of Iain MacDonald.

Cattle

• Prime cattle prices have softened from the highs reached in October but remained around 8% higher than last year and nearly 20% above the five-year average in late-November.
• October population data indicates that prime cattle availability remains tight relative to 2021 in Scotland, down 2% in the 12-30-month group, while showing a slightly stronger 5% uplift in England & Wales. The main driver of this divergence has been the increased outflow of store cattle from Scotland since autumn 2021. However, on a weekly basis, numbers have been trending slightly higher at price reporting abattoirs in Scotland while slipping back in E&W.
• UK export volumes held firm relative to a fall in domestic production during Q3, while a reduction in import volumes by 22% appears to have resulted in a significant tightening of overall beef supply.
• While a surge in cow slaughter over 2021 at Scottish abattoirs this autumn suggests that beef herd contraction is likely to have accelerated, by October 1st, the pace of decline had only reached -1.6% from -1.4% on July 1st. Calf registrations have barely fallen so far this year, so herd contraction is unlikely to impact supplies until mid-2024 at the earliest.
• Store cattle prices have fallen seasonally and continue to underperform finished cattle prices, while auction volumes have continued to lag behind 2021 levels following the peak autumn selling period.

Sheep

• After slumping to a seasonal low of around 220p/kg in late-October, lamb prices have risen above 240p/kg in November despite a seasonal jump in auction volumes at GB level.
• While lamb marketings have risen slightly in Scotland so far this season, they have continued to trail year earlier levels at GB auctions and abattoir throughput has fallen despite the English census pointing to a slightly larger lamb crop. This is signalling that we could have a large carryover of hoggs into 2023 at GB level.
• Store lamb volumes fell behind 2021 levels as November progressed, but in the season-to-date, the number traded has still risen by more than 5%, pressuring prices along with the softer market for finished lambs than in 2021.
• Retail sales data is signalling that GB household spending has fallen significantly behind year earlier levels, with most of this driven by a reduced share of households buying lamb, which is an expensive protein.
• UK lamb import volumes have rebounded this year but remain well below the levels seen in the mid-2010s, ensuring that the sheepmeat market remains tightly supplied in comparison to historic average levels.

Pigs

• Pig prices continued to steady at around the £2/kg dwt mark in November; a level still well below the cost of production.
• While June census data for England suggested that availability for slaughter could tighten sharply at GB level this autumn, GB slaughter data has yet to show that any significant decline is underway, although reduced carcase weights are supporting a fall in pigmeat output.
• There appears to be a link between EU pig prices and UK pork import prices and this suggests that imports are likely to have been more expensive than in autumn 2021, while the EU market is firming again as we move into December.
• Although pork prices in China have fallen back from the peak reached in October, a tight market should present some stronger opportunities for UK and EU exports.
• However, unless or until China's pork imports rebound significantly, UK and EU markets are likely to have surplus pork for sale.

Economic Conditions

• While fears over the Chinese economy and a dip in the US dollar from its recent peak have resulted in some downwards pressure on commodity prices, farmers and processors are having to cope with unusually high levels of input costs and past rises in raw material prices will still be filtering through to end prices.
• Consumer confidence remains very weak due to concerns about rising energy, food and mortgage costs but the cap on unit energy costs has supported a slight rebound in confidence through October and November.
• Strong average earnings growth has continued to support increased retail sales in cash terms, but much higher prices are leading to reductions in purchased volumes.
• The meat retail market is experiencing significant volatility, driven by consumers trading down towards cheaper products.
• UK businesses have started to report a fall in demand but have still been taking on staff to fill gaps in their workforce and the labour market continues to look resilient.

Food Hygiene Information Scheme – Communication with consumers survey

Food Standards Scotland are looking into the Food Hygiene Information Scheme and scoping the experiences and perceptions of food business' on how inspection information is communicated to consumers.

As part of this they have developed an online survey which we will invite food businesses who are in scope for FHIS to complete, likely in early January. Scottish Craft Butchers expressed that we might be able to help test this survey with a couple of food businesses.

We are looking to have a couple of food businesses complete the online survey and supply some feedback over the next two weeks (e.g. if the survey works, if there are any questions that aren't clear, if there is anything they think is missing etc.).

The test survey expires on Monday 12th December to allow time to make any necessary changes before it goes live in January.

The test survey link is available here: Survey Link

If any members would like to complete this, they can send any feedback they have directly to ([email protected] or 07823422918) or contact Bruce or Gordon on 01738 637472.

www.foods.gov.uk

World Charcuterie Awards 2023

Entry is Live for the inaugural World Charcuterie Awards with judging on March 15-17 in Leadenhall Market.

Scottish Craft Butchers are the Sponsors of the Best Product from Scotland.

They are offering an early-bird entry offer open to all Scottish Craft Butcher members, valid for a few weeks only prior to general entry.

ENTERING THE WORLD CHARCUTERIE AWARDS

As sponsors of the Best Product from Scotland in the inaugural World Charcuterie Awards, Scottish Craft Butchers are getting in touch to encourage you to enter the Awards.

They promise to be a new and exciting opportunity for you to promote your Charcuterie products, benefit from the extensive marketing based around these inaugural Awards, have your products assessed and receive valuable feedback from the expert judges and receive a discounted entry into the World Charcuterie Awards Directory. For further information, visit www.worldcharcuterieawards.com

To ensure all products entered can be fairly assessed and judged, The World Charcuterie Awards is capping the number of products entered for this year. Only producers who are pre-registered will be guaranteed entry into this year's Awards.
ESSENTIAL DATES

Registration is Open Now. Please Register here. https://www.worldcharcuterieawards.com/awards/register-now-for-2023/

ENTERING GOES LIVE FOR EARLY BIRD ENTRIES – Monday 28th November
Only Producers/Importers who have pre-registered will be able enter the Awards for this initial period.
All pre-registered businesses will also benefit from the EARLY BIRD DISCOUNTED FEE of £50 per product.
A link to the online entry form will be sent to all pre-registered businesses at 1 am on Monday 28th November 2022. Once the online payment is received, entry is confirmed and their place guaranteed.

MAIN ENTRY goes live – Monday 12th December 2022
Entry is now open to all comers. From 1 am on Monday 12th December a link to the online entry form will be available online.
From now onwards please note, whilst every effort will be made, we cannot guarantee entries will be accepted.

PRICE INCREASE – Monday 2nd January 2023
Entry is increased to £60.00 per product. This price increase applies regardless of whether a producer has pre-registered or not.
ENTRIES CLOSE – Sunday 30th January 2023