Delivered in partnership with Phoenix Natural Gas, the first event takes place on Monday 26 September, when the guest speaker will be former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Conservative Government Chief Whip, Julian Smith CBE MP.

The interactive session, which will be facilitated by NI Chamber’s Head of Public Affairs, Stuart Anderson, will provide an update on what the current political landscape at Stormont and Westminster means for firms operating in Northern Ireland. It is an exclusive opportunity for NI Chamber members to get a helpful, business focused synopsis which will enable them to understand the direct implications for their own organisations.

Announcing the new series, Ann McGregor, Chief Executive, NI Chamber said:“The public affairs landscape is becoming increasingly complex, which has significant implications for businesses. Understanding precisely what’s happening at local and international level is really important for firms of all sizes and recently, we’ve experienced a big increase in demand for our services in this area.

“That’s reflective of the impact of soaring cost pressures, inflation, interest rate rises, labour and supply-chain issues. In that context and in the continuing absence of a local Executive, this new series is set to be really important over the coming months.”

Michael McKinstry, Chief Executive, Phoenix Natural Gas added: “The decarbonisation of our economy is of central importance to us at Phoenix, and the successful delivery of this ambition, like many key future economic growth opportunities, is dependent on successful collaboration across the political and business spheres.

“That’s why we are pleased to be a partner to the NI Chamber in the provision of this new Public Affairs Forum and we look forward to seeing the constructive outcomes from the engagement it facilitates between the business community and political policy and decision makers.”

The Public Affairs Forum is a private event, exclusively for NI Chamber members and is free for them to attend. The first event takes place on Monday 26 September from 9.00am – 11.00am at The Merchant Hotel, Belfast.

To register please visit the NI Chamber website.

Caption: Ann McGregor (Chief Executive, NI Chamber), Michael McKinstry (Chief Executive, Phoenix Natural Gas) and Stuart Anderson (Head of Public Affairs, NI Chamber)

The post Julian Smith CBE MP to address NI Chamber’s new Public Affairs Forum first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Speciality cuts and speciality sausages may be more difficult to deliver, deputy president William Irvine warned.

He told Neighbourhood Retailer that it may be necessary to cull healthy pigs, if matters get much worse.

However, he felt it was unlikely that Northern Ireland retailers will have to resort to importing pork products from Europe.

Farmers in GB have warned that a mass cull of pigs could be on the cards due to a surplus of swine as a result of labour shortages in abattoirs.

A post-Brexit exodus of eastern European workers has been blamed for the labour difficulty, with some abattoirs operating at 20% below capacity.

Labour issues

Mr Irvine said the pig sector here is also facing serious difficulties.

“There’s a lot of pressure at farm level with not being able to move pigs off.  There are labour issues in the processing factories and they can’t process the normal quantity of pigs, and that means quite a tight timeline on pig production,” he says.

“Certain number of pigs normally leave the farm each week and when that doesn’t happen there’s a pressure on the farm. The other consequence is that pigs are not going, but they’re still eating meals, and when they do get away they’re overweight and they cost more and return less.”

Mr Irvine said Northern Ireland isn’t at the stage of mass culling just yet, but it may have to be considered.

“There’s no easy answer to what is the best thing to do here, and it’s always an option – if it continues to get worse it’s going to have to be considered,” he said.

“We’re trying all avenues to see if we can get more throughput through the factories.”

From a retail point of view, the number of product lines that would normally be in shops is probably already being reduced, he said.

“They’re streamlining product in every way they can and delivering the most handy and speedy cuts, so consumer choice is going to be limited,” he said.

“Demand from GB is strong, so in the run-up to Christmas there will be a reduced number of lines.”

Mr Irvine warned that the speciality cuts and speciality sausages may not be as simple to deliver.

“If you want a nice ham for Christmas I would buy it soon and have it in the freezer, rather than leaving it until Christmas Eve,” he warned.

And he warned that political intervention is needed to resolve the problem.

“If we could get more workers online, the pigs are there and demand for products is there – there’s just this hiccup in the middle. That answer lies with the highest political level to free up labour,” he said.

The post Pork and ham product choice could be limited this Christmas, farmers warn first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.