February 15, 2013

Feed costs, welfare standards squeeze UK poultry processors

Britain's poultry processors and producers are facing one of their toughest starts to a new year as they are being squeezed by high feed costs and higher welfare standards.

With chicken production in the UK significantly lower than in mainland Europe, the poultry industry has called on the UK government to address this imbalance with their European competitors. Deputy president of the National Farmers Union, Meurig Raymond, has expressed his support for genetically-modified (GM) production, mirroring the comments made by the environmental secretary Owen Paterson at last month's Oxford Farming conference.

Raymond said, "It is becoming impossible for the livestock industry, the white meat industry and boiler production to actually source non-GM protein on the global market. And, if you can source it, it is costing at least £100 (US$150) a tonne premium over GM."

Speaking at last month's Food Manufacture Business Leaders' Forum in London, technical director of Bernard Matthews, Jeremy Hall, said, "It continues to be a struggle. The biggest issue we have got is in relation to the inflationary effect of food costs."

"Soya is a considerable problem in relation to GM (genetically modified) feed and I think the government has got to start leading and outlining to consumers that GM is not a threat or a danger. It is a necessity if we are going to feed 9 billion people, the predicted growth in the global population by 2050," added Hall.

Meanwhile, the latest statistics on UK egg packing, processing and trade show that the average price for all eggs packed during the final quarter of 2012 was 89.9 pence (US$1.38) per dozen , compared with 71.4 pence (US$1.10) per dozen during the same period in 2011.