Scotland is set to receive a major boost to its pig processing capacity, with work to expand Brechin abattoir on track for completion by the end of the year, according to owner Quality pork Limited (QPL).
The company claims its multi-million pound investment at Brechin, which it took over from AP Jess in late 2014, will double the abattoir’s capacity.
Plans for the site were first announced last October following the creation of QPL - a joint venture between Scottish pig co-operatives Scottish Pig Producers and Scotlean. They include the installation of a new slaughter line and new chilling and lorry wash facilities.
The project received £2.7m funding from the Scottish government and has been welcomed by Scotland’s pig sector, which has been forced to send livestock south of the border since Vion’s Halls of Broxburn plant closed in 2012.
QPL claimed the abattoir, managed by Tulip on a day-to-day basis, has been designed to increase operations further as the Scottish pig herd expands in the future, and will have “sufficient capacity for all pigs born in Scotland to be slaughtered in Scotland.”
Scotland’s farming minister Richard Lochead said the abattoir “heralds a bright future for the Scottish pig supply chain”, which has faced a “difficult time” since the closure of the Broxburn plant.
Scottish Pig Producers and Scotlean Pigs are also working with banks and feed companies to develop a support programme to bring new producers into Scotland’s pig industry.
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