DAERA Minister Andrew Muir MLA pictured with NIFDA Executive Director Michael Bell and Cranswick Country Foods Technical Manager Kathryn Lyle during meeting with Directors and Managers of Cranswick Country Foods.
DAERA Minister Andrew Muir has paid visits to two Ballymena businesses to underline his commitment and support for both the local pig industry as well as encouraging development in green manufacturing.
During his visit to Cranswick Country Foods Ballymena site the Minister stressed his Department’s continued support for the NI pig industry as it continues to flourish on the domestic and international pork product market.
CCF currently process 13,000 pigs per week, with 85% sourced within NI and the remainder from ROI.
In addition to supplying the domestic market, CCF have a significant export trade to destinations including China, Canada, Philippines, South Korea, South Africa and Europe. CCF have been involved in recent inward trade missions from Mexico and Canada, receiving positive reports.
“I remain aware of the challenges that pig producers face, including development of their enterprises whilst managing the environmental threat including ammonia production, and will continue to work with industry to address these,” Minister Muir said.
Minister Muir said he also hoped to follow up his visit to the CCF processing plant with a visit to a pig farm.
DAERA Minister Andrew Muir MLA pictured with Mr Wilbert Moore Managing Director of Moore Concrete.
Later in the day the Minister also visited Moore Concrete Products to see how their team has worked on the development of products such as their SurefootTM slip resistant cattle slats that will allow agriculture to lower its carbon footprint while improving on its overall levels of sustainability.
Moore Concrete is one of only three UK-based precast concrete manufacturers who have set a Science Based Emission Reduction Target for their business. Science-Based Targets (SBT) provide companies with a clearly-defined path to reduce emissions in line with the Paris Agreement goals.
The company has been ISO 14001 accredited for a number of years, which demonstrates their commitment to continual improvement, pollution prevention and energy reduction. ISO 14001 is an internationally agreed standard that sets out the requirements for an environmental management system. It helps organisations improve their environmental performance through more efficient use of resources and reduction of waste.
Minister Muir said:
“I am pleased to be here this afternoon and I am very interested to hear and see at first hand the work being taken forward by Moore Concrete in green manufacturing.
“It is vitally important that all industry stakeholders - including farmers, processors, NGOs and DAERA - work collaboratively to ensure the long-term sustainability of the industry from an environmental and financial perspective.”