An insight into the current trends within the Irish poultry and egg industry

“Let’s talk poultry” was a webinar series organized for Irish poultry producers in collaboration with Alltech Webinars. The series which took place from June 17 th through to July 15t h was introduced by Rebecca Tierney from Teagasc and Niall Brennan, Poultry Coordinator at Alltech Ireland.

Topics included Avian Influenza; biosecurity; best practices for starting chicks and rearing healthier flocks; the laying cycle, and an insight into current trends within the Irish poultry and egg industry.

The webinar on the Irish poultry and egg industry, held on July 15, was presented by Peter Duggan, from the Meat Division of Bord Bia - The Irish Food Board, who gave a deep insight into the sector and its future trends. Peter Duggan’s presentation covered views on the Quality Assurance Scheme for egg and poultry producer members; on the Sustainable Poultry Products Assurance Scheme; on poultry and egg global trends and on consumer’s present

and future orientation. He highlighted the situation in the Republic of Ireland at a more global level and included also a presentation of all Bord Bia promotional activities and campaigns and how they have performed.

In the Republic of Ireland there are 418 poultry sites, with chicken production accounting for three quarters of those poultry sites and turkey units accounting for the vast majority of the remainder. The locations of the major poultry sites were graphically demonstrated with Monaghan County being identified as the center of these sites accounting for over 50 percent of the overall poultry production.

As regards egg production, there are around 186 production sites. Free range sites account for around 43 percent of production. While numbers of colony enriched production units are smaller, they still account for 53 percent of overall productions, so those sites are really important for providing a consistent supply of eggs to the market. Organic egg sites are increasing and have grown to around 18 in recent years, but still they only account for three percent of overall egg production. As regards barn production there are three sites accounting for about one percent of total production.

In November 2019 the SPPAS - Sustainable Poultry Products Assurance Scheme was accredited by Bord Bia with the aim of offering a better sustainability and standards in poultry breeder farms, in hatcheries and for chicken, turkey and duck production units.

This scheme will serve to set the following key points:

• to demonstrate to customers that poultry meat is produced under an accredited sustainability & quality assurance scheme.

• to set out the criteria for best practice at all stages in the poultry production process and to provide a uniform mechanism for recording and monitoring.

It was illustrated that by having participants embracing compliance with the criteria of quality assurance, food hygiene and food safety, this should increase the industry’s level of sustainability over time.

What are the benefits of participating in the SPPAS scheme?

On Farm Benefits

• Quality and sustainability measures can deliver environmental and economic benefits.

• Allows members to meet both regulatory and market demands.

Industry Benefits

• Effectively communicates the marketing credentials to key customers.

• Creates a market preference for certified produce among customers.

There are a lot of retailers and customers that are looking for a different product as they try to meet their own corporate social responsibility. They seek to source products from suppliers who can prove their sustainability credentials. Such credentials add value to the product.

Bearing this in mind, producers are committed to implementing a series of measures such as:

• Engaging in a Campylobacter Improvement Plan with their processing plant (in line with FSAI Recommendations for a Practical Control Programme for Campylobacter in the Poultry Production and Slaughter Chain) (2011).

• Giving Highest Priority to Critically Important Antimicrobials (HP-CIAs) products and usage methods as set out by DAFM recommendations.

• Developing and implementing an Animal Welfare Plan in consultation with a Veterinary Practitioner including an annual review of said plan.

• Gathering Sustainability data (e.g. energy, feed, etc.) to determine Carbon Footprint of each production facility.

With regard to work and environmental conditions they have to implement measures such as:

• ‘Staff Welfare in the Workplace’ policy.

• Rodent Control Plan in line with the Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use Code (CRRU).

• Chemical handling – producers must be registered with DAFM as a Professional User (PU).

• Biosecurity Protocols – House entry / exit procedures.

• Litter must be sourced from an approved supplier.

• Bird-handling protocols.

A resume of the global and local supply and production trends

From the 75 million birds processed per annum in Ireland in 2007, industry has moved in 2019 to the record of 106 million birds. In 2020 processing capacity is set to increase even more as 55 millions birds have been processed only in the first half of the current year. In Europe production and exports will modestly increase due to the impact of African Swine Fever in Asia and the COVID-19 and the Avian Influenza situation, especially in Central and Eastern Europe. Throughout 2020 there has been and will continue to be a strong demand for protein in the Chinese market. As a result, chicken imports have risen from around 300.000 tons in 2018 up to a potential 900.000 tons in 2020.

Question was posed as to which countries are currently benefiting from this increase in the Chinese demand for protein. A graphical presentation showed that the principal countries benefiting are Brazil, USA and Thailand. Europe is not benefiting because of the suspension of imports due to Avian Influenza.

Layer population in the Republic of Ireland has increased over recent years: in 2012 there were 2.8 million layers and by 2019 production had reached 3.7 million a reflection on the strong demand for eggs from Irish consumers. This layer number is most likely going to reduce and fall back to be maybe around 3.4 to 3.5 million given the high incidence of Avian Influenza.

On a global level, the current pandemic has led to lots of uncertainty and volatility across all sectors with significant disruption to trade, production, and consumption.

The Bord Bia chicken and eggs promotional campaigns have been focusing on raising awareness of chicken and egg consumption, showing the positive credentials of eggs and chicken meat. Promotional activities are also highlighting the flexibility and the versatility of chicken and how this product can be incorporated into a range of different recipes and meal time occasions. There have been a lot of positive results from those campaigns and the next Bord Bia chicken advertising campaign has started in September. Additionally, as a consequence of the pandemic, more people are cooking at home and in doing so are becoming more quality conscious as they seek to buy and consume secure quality food.