Italy found guilty of non-compliance with cage ban

Italy has been found guilty by the European Court of Justice of failing to comply with the EU ban on battery cages, which came into force on January 1, 2012. During lengthy proceedings, the Italian authorities claimed they did not have sufficient time to make sure all farms were compliant by the deadline.
In April last year, the European Commission decided to take Italy and Greece to the Court of Justice of the European Union over their failure to correctly implement Directive 1999/74/EC banning “un-enriched cages.”  Despite repeated calls from the Commission to address the situation, the two countries had failed to comply with the law.
The case against Greece has still to be resolved while Italy, which is now compliant, will only have to pay legal costs, and no financial penalties will be levied.
The judgment and proceedings have been far from universally welcomed.
NFU Scotland’s animal welfare policy manager Penny Johnston commented: “It is incredibly frustrating to hear that Italy will go unpunished for allowing its farmers to continue to use illegal cage systems, undercutting our egg producers for the last two and a half years.
“That is unacceptable; it is a slap in the face to all nations – including Scotland – that took the steps and bore the costs of upgrading egg systems. To add insult to injury, the fine makes a mockery of the penalty system, given that this was a clear and deliberate flouting of the rules.
“There is another case against Greece still outstanding. Again it would appear that the Commission has also only asked that costs of the court case be paid by Greece if found guilty.”


'Absurd excuse'
According to Compassion in World Farming, the Italian authorities claimed that there was insufficient time to prosecute non-compliant farmers. 
“What an absurd excuse,” commented Annamaria Pisapia, director of CIWF Italia, adding: “Is Italy saying it can’t enforce the law in its own territory? The country had 13 years to prepare for the ban. What was lacking was the political will, which was cast aside in favor of the interests of those who stood to gain economically. Simply put, it was more lucrative to continue using barren battery cages.”

EU broiler exports to decrease in 2011

European Union broiler exports are expected to drop more than 5% in 2011, due largely to tightened Russian import quotas, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The drop, the first in the last five years, will bring total EU exports to 940,000 metric tons, down from 2010's 7.3% jump over 2009 to 992,000 metric tons. Russia has tightened the imports it will allow, under tariff-rate quotas, to 350,000 metric tons.
The domestic market for poultry is also expected to slow in 2011. "Poultry meat consumption growth — around 1% — is less than the demographic one, showing that, per capita, consumption is probably slightly decreasing," said a USDA report. "Several market analyses showed that, while the average consumer switched from beef or pork meat to poultry meat, the lower income consumers simply reduced their protein purchases." The United Kingdom is expected to be hit particularly hard by the combination of decreased exports and lowered domestic interest, seeing near-zero growth in 2011 — a significant difference from 2010's 8% output growth.

EU will be net poultry importer by 2016

The European Union will become a net importer of poultry meat by 2016, with imports surpassing exports by 155,000 metric tons in 2020, according to a European Commission report on agricultural markets.
EU consumption of poultry meat is expected to steadily rise through 2020, due largely to its low cost and convenience compared to other meat products, said the report. Consumption per capita is expected to stand at 24.7 kilograms in 2020, exceeding 2009 levels by more than 6%. Production is also expected to grow by almost 7% on aggregate from 2009 numbers (11.64 million tons) to 2020 (12.47 million tons). Exports will gradually decrease by 22% on aggregate, mostly due to a strong euro and relatively high prices which will hold back poultry shipments outside EU borders, according to the Commission

Groups join to produce organic bio poultry

A group of firms and organizations have agreed to produce Organic SuperBio poultry to sell in Europe and China. The Baader Group, the Pourkian Group, the Fraunhofer Institut, San’an Technology Group and Hebei Luanping Huado Food Co. Ltd. joined to produce the bio product.
The partnership will involve development of a complete Organic SuperBio process chain, with products marked by its own seal. This poultry will be exported form China to Europe with the goal of exceeding EU bio standards, as well as others.

Poland witnesses strong growth in broiler breeder placements

Broiler breeder placements in Poland grew from 5 million in 2003 to nearly 7 million last year, an increase of almost 40%, reports Hubbard.
The country has become one of the most important European markets, and the company notes that last year its sales volume grew by 33% in comparison with the year before.
Like most North European countries, Poland mainly places standard-type breeders, however some 4-5% of the market uses dwarf-type breeders, predominantly for cages but also for floor systems, says Hubbard, which celebrates its 20th anniversary in the country this year.

EU broiler production to remain stable

EU-27 broiler production will grow less than 1% in 2010 to 8.7 million metric tons, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service.
Imports could increase from 710,000 in 2009 to 720,000 in 2010. The report said that some observers predict EU broiler imports from China will increase from 3,800 metric tons in 2009 to 10,000 metric tons in 2010.
The European Union’s top poultry-consuming countries are expected to be the United Kingdom (1.5 million metric tons), Spain (1.1 million metric tons), France (895,000 metric tons), Germany (835,000 metric tons) and Italy (694,000 metric tons).
Exports from the European Union are expected to fall slightly from 777,000 metric tons in 2009 to 770,000 in 2010, but that’s still higher than the 737,000 metric tons exported in 2008. The higher numbers in 2009 and 2010 can be attributed to the weakening of the euro.