Broiler supply chain needs investigating too, say leaders
© Tim Scrivener Farm leaders are demanding an urgent investigation into fairness in the poultrymeat sector, similar to the one recently announced for eggs, to help secure the survival of British broiler farms.
Addressing this week’s Egg and Poultry Industry Conference in Newport, south Wales, NFU president Minette Batters said there had not been the same focus on broiler meat from Defra that there had been on eggs.
“Many will feel like the poor relation to eggs, because Defra is not taking the same line,” she said. “There is an absolute pressing need that the minister commits to the same level of investigation into the broiler sector.”
See also: Defra seeks to end unfair trading practices in UK egg sector
Defra farming minister Mark Spencer was also pressed on the issue by NFU Poultry board chairman James Mottershead, who said that, while confidence was returning to the egg sector, this was not happening in the poultrymeat sector.
In the light of the many challenges still facing broiler growers (see “How is the broiler sector shaping up?”), he wanted to know when Defra was going to implement a review for them.
‘Get eggs done’
Responding to the calls, Mr Spencer said he wanted to “get the egg one done first”.
He also explained that legislation was on the way for dairy contracts following the review of commercial relations within that sector, and there was a review of fresh produce in the pipeline.
“I hope we’re sending a really firm message to both processors and retailers that we want to see fairness throughout the supply chain in all commodities that UK farmers are producing,” he told the conference.
“There is a willingness, if not a desire, in government to legislate where we feel there has been exploitation or unfairness.”
How is the broiler sector shaping up?
Mr Mottershead told Farmers Weekly the poultry sector had supply chain issues on two fronts: production costs and imports.
“We’ve still got producers with electricity costs well above the 15p/kW that most of us were previously on,” he said. “Some are still at the 80p/kW mark.
“Labour has also gone up. The only thing that has been recovered has been feed costs – and only for those in the integrated sector. But if you’re in the independent sector, they haven’t been met.”
Mr Mottershead also pointed to price pressure in the wholesale trade due to the “unstoppable amounts” of poultrymeat coming in from the Netherlands and Poland.
“Those countries have cheaper costs of production, for example by being allowed to feed processed animal protein, which for us would be illegal,” he said.
“In Poland, there is also a huge food safety risk because there has been a massive outbreak of salmonella.
“We’ve seen them using antibiotics that we’ve not been using in our sector for over 10 years. What’s more, there is almost a complete lack of inspection at border posts.”