Free-range eggs boom in Wales

Plans to outlaw battery-farmed egg production in the EU in the next two years have led to an increase of free-range flocks in Wales with new figures showing that the 300 registered egg producers have tripled since 2006.

 

The trend towards free-range production has been encouraged by Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) processing and marketing grants, which have delivered more than EUR1 million (US$1.32 million) to free-range projects in Wales. Together with the private sector outlay, the total investment in the Welsh poultry sector in the last financial year was EUR7.7 million (US$10.16 million).

 

With new commercial free-range units averaging 12,000-16,000 birds per unit, the Welsh flock is predicted to rise over the next three years by around 400,000 birds. Another 27 planning applications are currently under consideration.

 

Euros Evans, who runs an 8,000-hen free-range unit at Pennsylvania Farm, Crundale, Pembrokeshire, reckons that, with a shortage of eggs predicted due to the phase-out of conventional cages, Welsh free-range egg production will continue to thrive.

 

But Evans warns that it's not a business for those who expect to make a quick turnaround on their investment. "It requires quite a significant initial outlay and this can take around 10 years to recoup. It's not a hugely profitable sector, but you can make a decent living."

 

Mid Wales has seen the biggest increase in poultry production, with Powys accounting for 70% of recent projects, from installing new egg packing equipment to building new bird units.

 

In the global market there is evidence that egg production is shifting to countries where costs of feed, labour and regulation are significantly lower.

 

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) estimates that 63% of eggs produced in the UK are from battery farms while 32% are free range. The remaining 5% are barn eggs from birds reared indoors and without cages.