New abattoir will boost organic farming industry (From Western Telegraph)

New abattoir will boost organic farming industry

A new farmer-owned abattoir will play a key role in developing Pembrokeshires organic livestock industry.

The Pembrokeshire Meat Company, formed by 64 farmers and businessmen in a county which lost its only abattoir 13 years ago, forecasts an expansion in organic production at existing and new businesses in the region.

The new £750,000 slaughterhouse at the Withybush Park Industrial Estate, Haverfordwest, will cater for both organic and conventionally-produced cattle, sheep and pigs. Construction began last month and it will be operational in time for the Christmas market and is expected to deal with 8,500 livestock units annually, for both the home and export markets.

According to its business plan, the venture will exploit fully the growing organic market opportunities in Wales and beyond. Shareholders have invested £190,000 - ranging from £500 to £16,000 each. The remaining cost is financed by a £240,000 European Union grant and a bank loan.

The slaughterhouse will operate solely as a service facility and will not generate the profits expected from a commercial abattoir. But it is expected to make a positive return with a predicted £40,000 annual profit to replace equipment and fund expansion.

A major financial backer is the award-winning organic meat processor, the Welsh Hook Meat Company, whose processing plant at Haverfordwest neighbours the abattoir site.

Without the key slaughtering link, says its chairman, John Davies, the growing organic opportunities available to his business are more difficult to exploit.

He believes the abattoir will provide this link in an area where organic slaughter facilities are even more remote than conventional ones. A Soil Association symbol is currently being applied for.

Pembrokeshire is a major player in the organic field. It is essential that we have full control of the stock we are using by having an abattoir on our doorstep, said Mr Davies, who is also secretary of the Pembrokeshire Meat Company.

The absence of a local abattoir has hindered expansion plans at Welsh Hook Meat, set up in 1989 by Mr Davies and his brother, Emrys. They have forecast a 20% increase in business once the abattoir is operational. The majority of their customers are in the South-East of England and include the Ritz Hotel, London.

We have been in a position where we have had to refuse stock, even though we have a market for it, because there is a six-week waiting list at our nearest abattoir at Tregaron. We have to make a 150-mile journey each time stock are sent for slaughter, said John Davies.

There are tremendous export opportunities available to us - we have already had inquiries from Greece and Spain. It will open up new markets for local butchers, he added. Haulage costs make it unviable to send one or two animals for slaughter, which means independent butchers have to buy meat from a wholesaler which could have come from anywhere. They will now be able to tell their customers that the meat they are selling has never left Pembrokeshire.

Mr Davies acknowledged the support of Pembrokeshire osteopath, Richard Blacklaw-Jones, who pioneered the idea, Geraint Williams, of the Welsh Development Agency and Robert Higgon, of the Pembrokeshire Business Initiative.

Local support has been freely given and farmers, butchers and others in the local community made it easy for Graham Lewis, the deputy managing director here at the Welsh Hook Meat Company, to raise the share capital, he said.

Initially, the abattoir will create seven jobs, but it is widely expected to generate indirect employment at other businesses, including Welsh Hook Meat, which currently has 23 staff on its payroll.