WINELANDS PORK: Quality Focus Assured at Winelands Pork

In July 2017, Henry Shaw, Operations Manager at Winelands Pork, told Enterprise Africa that the expert abattoir and sales business was relentlessly driving a quality focus across the industry by adopting the Pork 360 accreditation – an initiative of SAPPO (the South African Pork Producers Organization). Winelands Pork was the first company to be approved as part of the scheme and Shaw was delighted that the company’s products and processes were recognised as superior.

At the time, the company was growing and searching for expansion opportunities by offering quality inhouse training for staff and looking at export opportunities in various markets around the world.

Today, following major shifts in markets and economies – all over the world – Winelands Pork is reassessing its strategy and developing plans for a post-pandemic world which requires a different approach.

Thankfully, the value of pork in terms of health and availability has not diminished. High in iron and zinc, and packed full of protein, pork is a primary element in a healthy diet – lean, versatile, and nutritious. Farming pork can also be less problematic in regions where drought is common. Unlike cattle and sheep, pigs don’t need to graze extensive grasslands and can be well managed through intensive feeding processes.

In South Africa’s fresh and open farmland of the Western Cape, pig farming continued relatively uninterrupted when Covid-19 was quickly moving through the human population. A key supplier into the food value chain – supplying retail, wholesale, and end users – Winelands Pork was allowed to maintain its operations albeit under strict new guidelines.

NO MAJOR COMPLICATIONS

Shaw says that the company is well-versed in hygiene protocols and was already implementing stringent measures to ensure safety.

“We had to step up all regulations and implementations,” he says. “We were sanitising and taking temperatures of every single person who came to the premises, not that it was a fool proof system but at least we were able to capture some cases. We have various categories in the abattoir – all the people working there wear protective clothing, they sanitise their hands and boots, and they get new clothing every time they enter the plant. On that side, we didn’t have too many incidents and we were not scared that we would have to shut down like some of the big plants in Europe.

“We were monitoring everyone and sending anyone with even the slightest symptoms home to quarantine,” he adds. “On that basis, we managed to survive and avoid major complications. We ran at full capacity and, because people were not travelling as much and spending time at home, the business managed to do quite well.”

The company was planning a number of projects and investments but these were hampered by the onset of the pandemic. “Covid hit and all of our planning was put on the backburner,” admits Shaw. He highlights the constant uncertainty around tourism and the opening, closing, and reopening of travel routes as a major hurdle with Cape Town thriving from tourism activity. Supplying wholesale into restaurants, hotels, and retailers, when the number of people coming into the city dried up, so did many of the businesses buying Winelands Pork.

“You can’t invest if you’re not sure what is going to happen over the next year,” says Shaw. “We had plans to build a new facility but that was put on hold because of the uncertainty going forward.”

MEAT EATERS

South Africans consume around 200,000 tonnes of pork each year and the country has realised a 3.5% increase in production over the past decade. But input costs are going up and export costs remain relatively high. So, what has driven positivity for Winelands Pork?

Firstly, the investment into Pork 360 quality accreditation has gone a long way. Customers recognise the importance of investing locally and spending on products that offer transparency about production. Pork 360 is a guarantee of food safety and, in the eyes of retailers and consumers, there is no more important factor.

Secondly, the price of food has been rising. While this of course impacts production costs (pigs feed heavily on maize and soya), the price of food saw a 9% jump year-on-year from December 21 to January 22. While this is a positive for food producers, it is worrying in the longer-term as pricing continues to grow faster than inflation with wage growth lagging way behind.

Lastly, there are changing patterns in the consumer market, with many opting for fresh and moving away from processed and frozen (albeit slowly), and much attention being placed on locally sourced produce that supports local value chains. Winelands Pork has been all about local since its establishment in 2001. South African-owned, managed, and run, this is a local business with quality at its heart.

“The abattoir is owned by shareholders which is a group of farmers,” says Shaw of Winelands Pork’s local flavour. “It is a similar set up to a cooperation and if you are part of the shareholding then you have to supply pigs. We are part of the Number Two Piggeries group in South Africa and they own around 85% of all shares as well as around 35% of all the pigs in South Africa, and 95% of all the pigs in Namibia.

“All our farmers supply pigs and we don’t buy pigs in from the market. That gives us a consistency and a quality – there are no variations. We are in the fresh market and supplying to retailers and butcher shops. Most of our competitors are in the processed market and they buy pigs, slaughter them, and then process the meat for sale.”

GLOBAL AMBITION

In the long-term, the focus for Winelands Pork continues around quality but moves beyond just product and incorporates all aspects of business as the company strives to be internationally recognised.

“Winelands Pork’s aim,” the company states “is to strategically position ourselves amongst the most admired global marketers and distributors of pork meat in the world and to meet the various needs of the consumer every day by marketing and selling pork meat of a consistently high quality. The confidence that consumers have in our products is a result of our company’s many years of knowledge in pig farming, slaughtering of pigs, research and development as well as continuity. Consumers relate to this and feel they can trust our products. We are ranked among the most admired companies in South Africa and our vision is to expand this status to that of a global one.”

This global ambition will be achieved through a very local operation, realising the mission of value creation for both farmers and consumers through products, serving the nutritional needs of local and global communities, and driving responsible growth by fostering and focusing on a platform of producing and slaughtering pigs in the Western Cape.

With around 300 staff employed by the company at its home on the outskirts of Cape Town, Winelands Pork is a large agri employer in the region, and is always training people in order to grow.

Shaw, responsible for business development around the world, is confident of future expansion in new regions including other African markets and the Far East.

“Right now, we are putting a lot of effort into export as we don’t have the strength in the tourism industry or the same catering market. Restaurants are open but many went out of business during the pandemic. That market has shrunk quite a lot and we have lost a number of clients both directly and indirectly. We will really focus on export into Africa. In Namibia, Angola, Mozambique, DRC – they are huge consumers of pork. We already export fresh meat to Namibia and Mozambique. We also handle deboning to client specifications, and we can handle fresh meat supply to retailers, wholesalers, and production houses locally and nationally.” he says.

With a strong platform to launch further export business, the news from the SAPPO that the industry looks set to become more efficient this year, is welcome news for Winelands Pork as it chases growth.

“Overall, we predict an exceptional year of innovation, because farmers are under immense pressure to produce affordable food while facing enormous rises in input costs. Feed prices are extremely high, and farm-gate prices haven’t increased proportionately,” SAPPO CEO Johan Kotzé told Farmer’s Weekly at the end of last year.

As one of the larger, more respected, quality-focussed, and value adding companies in the sector, Winelands Pork remains in a strong position, and after a tough period this pork specialist continues to meet demands for this healthy and tasty meat.