Carmen Radelescu tells how VAEX has been working for fifteen years in Arad to 'pave the way for pigs' in Romania. "This work is dynamic and it is anything but boring and predictable. Our strength lies in our wide network and in the fact that we keep on puzzling away at something until we achieve a solution”.

Carmen is manager of VAEX Romania and she heads up a 'six-woman team.' They focus on selling piglets in Romania and Hungary and purchasing piglets in Romania, Hungary and Germany. They also purchase fattening pigs. These are slaughtered and the carcasses are sold on. "That sounds simple, but it was certainly not the case last year," says Carmen. "African swine fever is a continuing problem in Romania. It causes uncertainty in the pig market and prices have fallen."

African swine fever
New outbreaks of African swine fever among farmed pigs can disrupt schedules at any time. Carmen says that the virus re-occurs persistently because of the large numbers of wild swine in Romania. The large number of backyard farms with poor standards of hygiene are also a danger to the professional pig farming sector. "If one animal tests positive on a small- scale pig farm, all operations within a radius of 10 km are shut down. That happened yet again in the first week of 2021 and eleven professional pig farmers were unable to transport their piglets and fattening pigs. If the outbreak does not spread any further, the ban is lifted after six weeks”.

But Carmen also has a customer whose operation was shut down for almost eight months in 2020. "Then it is difficult to fulfil commitments," she emphasises. "However, solving difficult situations is also one of our strong points. We have a wide network and we keep on working the problem until we find an acceptable solution”.

Carmen has to find solutions within Romanian borders. The presence of African swine fever makes it impossible to export piglets, fattening pigs, fresh pork or carcasses. "To enable us to export piglets from a pig farm that has been shut down for such a long time, we contact the authorities and deliver customised solutions to prevent health problems”, explains Carmen. "We did this by using pig houses in the region itself or in surrounding areas.

Separate distribution channels
In order to market the healthy fattening pigs of a locked-down farm, the ladies of team VAEX Romania have to find special slaughter capacity. "The meat of pigs from a contaminated area is not permitted to be sold without restrictions”, explains Carmen. "The carcass or the meat needs to be thermally treated. This is only done by a few smaller slaughterhouses which means that distribution is limited. It also affects the price that they are willing to pay. Another complication for marketing these fattening pigs is the weight. "Normally, fattening pigs have a live weight of 100 to 110 kilogrammes," she states. "But the heaviest animals from locked-down farms weigh between 160 and 180 kilogrammes when they are slaughtered."

Carmen also describes a situation whereby a large sow farm was temporarily locked down and the supply of piglets to the regular buyers came to a standstill. "It was a painful situation for both of these customers," she says. "But for us, too. Because it was difficult to fulfil the agreements laid down in the contract, and also because the buyer did not want to have piglets from another source in his pig houses”.

Seeing opportunities
Carmen is an optimist and always sees opportunities. "After an outbreak of African swine fever, large pig farms are empty due to the culls and the period of mandatory inactivity. They can be re-populated with sows or piglets. But there are also pig farmers who have suffered such big losses in the past year that they put their farms up for sale," she adds. "We try to find new owners for locations with space for developing pig farms. Carmen believes that her country is attractive to entrepreneurs with a pioneering spirit. "Romania has to import about half of the pork meat that it uses. Pig farmers who want to work professionally can make money and contribute to the recovery of domestic pork meat production.

ABOUT THE ROMANIAN TEAM... 
Fanatical coffee drinkers;
A close-knit team;
Enthusiastic about walking;
All staff birthdays are celebrated in the office;
Commonly known as 'the women's team' and as the team that finds a solution for every challenge;
Team-building days are very worthwhile.