The economic impact of converting poultry farms to cage-free systems will require Spanish egg producers to make total investments of more than 2.3 billion euros, according to the Interprofessional Organisation for Eggs and Egg Products (Inprovo).
· The Spanish poultry sector is calling on the European Commission, in the development of its legislative proposal on the improvement of Animal Welfare, to include financial support for affected sector operators, and exit plans for poultry farmers who do not wish to continue their activity
· INPROVO estimates a minimum transition period of 15 years for a gradual transition, in order to avoid potential market and price distortions
· Producing a dozen eggs under the barn system will be 17% more expensive, and in the case of free-range hens, 31% more expensive than in enriched cages.
· Using only alternative systems will result in a regulatory cost overrun of more than 55% in the EU compared to competing third countries, which is why the sector is calling for protection and reciprocity in trade agreements with third countries to prevent the loss of part of EU production
· Spain has more than 1,500 laying hen farms spread across the entire country, the majority of which are Spanish-owned SMEs of a family-run nature, generating approximately 15,000 direct jobs and around 60,000 indirect jobs
Producers will need to make this adaptation to comply with the new European animal welfare regulations, and the sector has therefore called on the European Commission (EC) to incorporate, in the development of this legislative proposal, additional financial support beyond that of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), proportional to the investment made by poultry farmers.
These are the main conclusions that INPROVO highlighted on 27 June 2024 to NeXusAvicultura.Com on the occasion of the European Poultry Conference. The Egg Interprofessional Organisation considers it essential that the new regulations be underpinned by a “complete and independent” analysis, based on solid scientific and technical evidence, which takes into account the assessment of the socioeconomic impact of the measures and helps to understand the risks, costs and requirements that the total elimination of cages entails for the sector.
Support plan for producers called for
It has also called for the transformation of farms to be carried out gradually and for a plan to be established with support measures for producers who do not wish to continue their activity.
Regarding the 10-year adaptation period proposed by the EC, Inprovo has considered this to be an “insufficient” period for the majority of sector operators, and has instead proposed a minimum period of 15 years to avoid losing farms with lesser financial or credit capacity.
The organisation has expressed its concern over the changes to maximum stocking density in farms proposed by the EC, which would move from 9 to 5 hens per square metre in indoor spaces and from 7 hens per square metre to 2 in cases where outdoor access is provided.
According to the Committee of Agricultural Organisations and Cooperatives (Copa-Cogeca), this new measure could cause the number of laying hens to fall by 13% in the European Union, reducing the current flock of 379 million birds to 330 million, it noted.
Investments to maintain current production levels
In its view, maintaining current production levels will require investments of 800 million euros and the availability of significant areas of land suitable for construction.
Inprovo has detailed some of the additional costs entailed by the new regulations: producing a dozen eggs under the barn system would be 17.3% more expensive, and for free-range hens, 30.9% more expensive.
Furthermore, it has estimated an increase in regulatory costs of close to 40% compared to those borne by the main competing third countries, in addition to the further 16% cost overrun already absorbed by European egg producers using the enriched cage system, which is the lowest-cost option.
For more information:
-. INPROVO
-. Production costs at NeXusAvicultura.com