Cranswick enjoys in-home dining boost but battles with pork backlog
Food producer Cranswick has reaped the rewards of more in-home dining amid the pandemic – a trend which has remained strong over the past three months.
While trading over the festive period was “comfortably ahead” of the same period in 2020, the food producer was hit by widespread labour and supply chain challenges.
The UK’s pork sector also continues to face operational and commercial headwinds, with the supply of pigs at times exceeding demand and processing capacity, Cranswick explained.
“Given the magnitude of this industry issue, we continue to lobby the government for sector support to help alleviate the backlog, including the reinstatement of Chinese export licences and addressing the acute shortage of skilled butchers,” the producer said in its third quarter trading update today.
Cranswick’s export licence to China, for its pork processing plant in Norfolk, has been suspended, which prompted lower international sales – as anticipated, it added.
Despite the number of disruptions it faces, Cranswick’s board remains “confident” that its customer relationships and breadth of products keeps the food producer in a “robust financial position”.
CEO Adam Couch added: “We have delivered another strong quarter of growth during which we have supported our customers by delivering excellent service levels to ensure full availability of our products.
“Our outlook for the current year is unchanged and we have a solid platform from which to continue Cranswick’s successful long-term development.”