INTERVIEW FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE March 2022 57 This animal welfare module builds on BePork, the generic quality system that applies as a market access condition for the pig sector and that was launched on 1 January 2021. The animal welfare module is in line with systems such as “Beter Leven Keurmerk” in The Netherlands and “Initiative Tierwohl” in Germany. Companies that have been inspected according to the new animal welfare module will be at a similar international level to the renowned Dutch and German quality marks. What would you like to comment about BFA’s approach to the problems experienced in the industry, suggestions for solutions or its efforts to solve these problems? The animal feed sector has already shown its resilience multiple times. In the coming years, more changes are in store. BFA opts for a proactive policy, in which we look for solutions instead of seeing barriers. We therefore continuously communicate what we do and why we do it with our various stakeholders, i.e., the other actors in the agri-food chain, the various government and European organizations. Last but not least, can we talk about feed prices? Feed prices have recently become a major problem for farmers in many parts of the world.We know that there are problems with feed prices in your country as well. What were the factors that most affected the increase in feed prices in your country? How do price increases affect the feed and livestock industry? Prices for almost all raw materials have risen spectacularly since September 2020: wheat, corn, barley, soy meal, linseed, rapeseed meal, beet pulp, vitamins and minerals. This has various reasons, including disappointing harvests, high energy prices, a strong dollar and protectionist measures (e.g. export taxes). Feed companies have so far and are still buffering part of this price increase, but further increases in raw material prices will undoubtedly lead to further increases in feed prices. This puts the profitability of the livestock farmers under heavy pressure. Fortunately, for a number of animal groups (dairy cattle, beef cattle and poultry), there are also better prices for the end products than about one or two years ago. The greatest pressure is currently in the pig sector. The prices of piglets and fattening pigs remain really low. For every 10-Euro increase per ton of pig feed, the profitability decreases by about 3 cents per kilo of live pig. This is leading to the biggest crisis in Belgian pig farming this century. What could producers face in terms of prices in the upcoming period and are there ways to reduce feed costs/prices? We do not foresee a decrease in the prices of raw materials or energy in the near future. Process optimization and energy efficiency (another objective included in the BFA Sustainability Charter) could be alternative ways to reduce the feed costs/prices. Geopolitical influences (e.g. the situation Russia/Ukraine) could also heavily affect the prices in the upcoming period. And, any message for the industry or anything else that you would like to add? Together with its members, BFA aims to provide products that contribute to more sustainable and safer feed and food production. To this end, the feed sector wants to make efforts. However, we cannot do this alone. A fair price for local products of high quality is crucial to properly compensate farmers for the efforts they make. The retail sector and the consumer are therefore indispensable links for a more sustainable and locally anchored agricultural sector and all adjoining sectors. About Katrien D’hooghe Bioengineer by degree, Katrien worked from 2005 to 2012 at BCZ as Regulatory Affairs Manager, responsible for the self-checking guide for the dairy sector. At that time, she also became a Board Member at Ovocom, the platform for the self-checking guide and the FCA (Feed Chain Alliance) standard, formerly GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices), before taking over as Director between 2012 and January 2018. After working several years with Yvan Dejaegher, Director of BFA (at the time Bemefa), Katrien succeeded Yvan as Managing Director of BFA in May 2019.
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