Icex and Propollo join forces to boost poultry meat exports in international markets

Madrid, October 5, 2020. ICEX Spain Export and Investment and Propollo, the Interprofessional Poultry Farming Association, have signed an agreement to launch initiatives for the dissemination, training and promotion of poultry products abroad.

The agreement, which will last two years, will begin with an in-depth analysis of needs, the conclusions of which will be reflected in a work plan. It will define the dissemination, training or promotion actions for poultry products. In this sense, workshops, seminars or debate forums on the internationalization of the sector will be developed, as well as international promotion activities, whether technical conferences, seminars on opportunities in strategic markets or reverse missions of buyers or opinion leaders.

The objective is to increase the business figures of this sector, which reaches a turnover of 2.3 billion euros per year and has more than 40,000 direct and indirect jobs. In addition, it will be a strong push to diversify the destination of its sales, which until now have been mainly accounted for in the Spanish market.

For Jordi Monfort, general secretary of Propollo, “This agreement will provide important support for the entire poultry industry, already mature enough from a business point of view to undertake international expansion with guarantees, in markets as attractive as Europe, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, China, the Philippines and Japan.”.

Maria Pena, CEO of ICEX emphasizes that “Internationalization is the great challenge of this sector, so through promotional actions or instruments such as personalized market studies this path will be facilitated, identifying commercial partners for the export and investment of your industry.”.

Marketing and public relations actions will be essential for the establishment of poultry products in international markets, which contemplate an increasingly specialized digital activity that seeks positioning among the professional public. To do this, they will have the support of the Foods & Wines From Spain brand and the use of the Poultry From Spain quality seal.

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ANALYSIS OF ROASTING CHICKEN IN FACE OF A SUMMER MARKED BY COVID-19

Proximity and delivery establishments (home delivery) as ways to reach Spanish families with a healthy product with an eminent social character.

From the Interprofessional Association of Poultry Farming of Chicken Meat / Propollo, which brings together more than 95% of the poultry sector in Spain, it is analyzed how the rotisserie chicken, a typical Spanish product, closely linked to the seasonality of summer and the influx of international tourists, has adapted to the “new normal”.

Spokesperson: Jordi Montfort, Secretary General of Propollo.

Context of the poultry and broiler chicken sector

  • Before COVID-19, around 46 million chickens were produced each month in Spain, where seasonality dictated the type of product that was demanded in the market. 
  • During the summer months, the HORECA channel, to which 25% of production is usually derived during the rest of the year, redistributes products aimed at communities and restaurants (composed mainly of carcass pieces, fillets and wings), to the well-known as rotisserie chicken, typical of bars, restaurants with terraces, stands at patron saint festivities, either establishments with takeaway food, as well as beach. Although demand also increases in distribution channel In coast. 
  • The demand derived from tourism in coastal areas, where it was also noticeable The arrival of foreign tourists caused this figure to rise.. In total, 52.8 million tourists arrived in Spain each summer, with an average consumption of 500 grams of chicken, which makes a total of 26.4 million Kgs.  
  • About 35 million chickens (the aforementioned 25% from production) were allocated during the 3 summer months to the HORECA channel (more than 49 million Kg).  

How has COVID-19 affected

  • After the first confinement measures were decreed in March and the total closure of the HORECA channel, as well as the absolute paralysis of international and national tourism, producers saw how that 25% of production oriented to this channel completely disappeared, although an important part was already planned for the months of April, May and June.
  • Producers (farms and integrators) have barely had the opportunity to adapt their production to real demand, since they need at least 3 months to do so due to the chicken breeding cycles. 
  • Therefore, a part of the product was already on the farms, and part of this production has had to be kept cold (frozen), although there has been no support from the Administration for this concept, unlike other products such as sheep. , goat, bovine or pig. 

Rotisserie Chicken: product typology & sector distribution

  • The rotisserie chicken corresponds to a specimen of approximately 1.4 kg. To reach the market, this chicken spends an average of 36 days on the farms. 
  • The sales price in establishments is also a very important factor for its acquisition by consumers. It is usually between €8 and €12, depending on the geographical area and type of preparation.   
  • Some of the specialized distributors in the HORECA channel itself have had to adapt your production to other types of products, but this has already been done for the months of July-August-September.
  • The news of deconfinement and possible recovery of domestic tourism has barely allowed producers any room for maneuver to adapt the raising of rotisserie chicken.
  • The most optimistic figures, subject to recent outbreaks and new confinement measures, speak of a lawsuit regarding 7 million copies (a 20% of the usual 35 million).
  • But it is a figure that fluctuates and is also subject to new news regarding the cancellation of international tourism, especially British tourism on the coasts.
  • And also for chicken imports from surplus countries such as Italy or Poland, in addition to the usual ones from Brazil. It is estimated that 15% of chicken consumption in the HORECA channel comes from imports. 

The Spanish restaurant and hospitality industry adapts to new habits 

  • Some of our associates, especially integrators, already chose to participate in previous years in restaurant projects with direct sales, which also made it easier to have establishments selling prepared food throughout the country.
  • This activity is added to that of distribution of rotisserie chicken for restaurant chains, small businesses, bars, beach establishments, hypermarkets selling prepared food dishes, etc.   
  • All of these establishments have seen how an important factor in the new normal has been the Delivery options (home delivery), as well as the proposal of food to pick up in store upon request, including the request sometimes by telephone and other times online.
  • Both restaurant chains and individual establishments opt for this type of service as a way to facilitate access to a prepared meal linked to family or leisure consumption at home.
  • We have detected that this option is also linked not only to coastal sites, but also in large cities like Madrid, Barcelona or Seville. The delivery option allows consumers to have a healthy diet at home, as well as Promote the business of small neighborhood businesses.
  • For some establishments in inland cities, this type of sales strategies and proximity to local customers has meant that the decline in sales may have been less than expected, below the national average. 
  • An interesting option is also being the prepared food spaces of hypermarkets, such as El Corte Inglés, Mercadona or Eroski. Although its adaptation to the new normal remains to be seen.

PROPOLLO AND HOSTELEO COLLABORATE TO SUPPORT RESTORATIONS ON WORLD FRIED CHICKEN DAY IN SPAIN

The poultry association Propollo launches a digital initiative to join the #pollolovers party around the world, and which aims to encourage the consumption of poultry meat from local producers as well as the activity of establishments and delivery services

Garlic fried chicken or American style? In it World Fried Chicken Day (July 6) Spaniards will have a new opportunity to gastronomically celebrate one of the most important anniversaries in the Anglo-Saxon world, where the United States takes the cake, since 80% of Americans admit to consuming it at least once a month.

In Spain, 92 million wings are produced every month, that reach our plates in their different styles and presentations, and of which a 25% are tasted in our restaurants and bars (HORECA).

This summer the deconfinement is marking the return to normality and the exit to the streets, and from the Interprofessional Association of Chicken Meat Poultry / Propollo (propollo.es), which brings together more than 95% of the poultry sector in Spain, want to invite you to celebrate the #WorldFriedChickenDay (diadelpollofrito.es) with friends and family, purchasing Spanish products in their favorite restaurant establishments, in their homes through the options of delivery (home delivery) or acquisition in distribution channels such as large stores or small businesses.

Several collaborators join the initiative, including Hostel, a portal that brings together more than 15,000 establishments in Spain, which Propollo wants to support to promote the consumption of poultry meat in its different forms of preparation.

The initiative also seeks to connect with younger consumers through social networks and different influencers gastronomic and lifestyle, who come together to share their preferences in terms of preparation or seasoning, with a clear proposal: #CelebrateWithChicken.

This World Fried Chicken Day It is, if possible, richer in options in Spain, since touring the national geography we find several proposals: from the typical "fried chicken with garlic" or "garlic chicken wings", prepared in a pot or frying pan with local products and extra virgin olive oil, to the traditional “home-style fried chicken” with fries.

Without forgetting the “American-style fried chicken” or the “baked buffalo-style wings”, seasoned with sweet paprika and which connect us with the Anglo-Saxon origins of this international day. The dishes proposed for #CelebrateWithChicken They also include haute cuisine options such as “fried chicken with corn flakes” or “Southern-style fried chicken”, with tarragon, dried dill and “Old Bay” spices.

For Jordi Montfort, Secretary General of Propollo, “After the stoppage in demand during the hardest weeks of confinement, consumers are eager to return little by little to normality, where the new social and safety guidelines allow them to continue enjoying Spanish gastronomy in the company of their family and friends. This World Fried Chicken Day is one more opportunity to do something typical of our culture: celebrate it with healthy foods produced in our own country.”

In conclusion, this year the World Fried Chicken Day It will be more social and familiar than ever, and all that remains is to choose the preferred option. #CelebrateWithChicken.

THE POULTRY SECTOR IS LEFT WITHOUT AID FROM EUROPE AND SPAIN WHILE ITS PRICES FALL BY 30% AND THE SITUATION BECOME UNSUSTAINABLE FOR THOUSANDS OF FAMILIES

While Europe grants aid for private storage to the sheep, goat or beef sector, only the Basque Country has adopted support measures for the poultry sector in our country.

Although domestic demand has plummeted and Spanish producers have surplus stocks on our farms, chicken imports from countries such as Poland or Italy are increasing, which have decided on a loss-making pricing policy.

MADRID, April 27, 2020. From the Interprofessional Association of Poultry Farming of Chicken Meat (Propollo: www.propollo.es), we have decided to make an institutional declaration in the face of what we consider an unsustainable situation, in response to which, although we have demanded solutions that are already being implemented in other sectors and countries, it is still not applied in an essential activity such as poultry production in Spain.

  • Since the beginning of the crisis caused by the effects of COVID-19 in our country and worldwide, we made ourselves available to authorities, public administrations, business associations and social agents. for the analysis and adoption of measures that will contribute to guaranteeing the supply of the population and the protection of professionals in the sector.
  • Additionally, we have sought solutions to minimize the effects it will have on a sector that may face losses of over 600 million euros this year.
  • After our announced on April 8 We continue to demand a constructive, open dialogue, but also immediate concrete solutions, since time is essential in a sector such as livestock farming in general and poultry farming in particular to avoid situations with no turning back.
  • Poultry meat prices are collapsing at source, while production and logistics costs rise progressively. Thus, chicken has had a sharp drop in the marketing prices of different cuts:
    • Grade A hindquarters are below 0.60 euros per kg, when their normal price is 0.90-1.10 euros per kg.
    • The “European channel” is below €1.50 in the market, 39% lower than what it was before entering confinement.
    • In the case of turkey, the price of breast has fallen by 34%, going from €4.70 in the second week of March to €3.0 in the third week of April.
  • Markets such as Poland or Italy are transferring their surplus production to our country, even at the cost of being sold with losses, which further aggravates our market, where only due to the fall in tourism and the HORECA channel we have lost 25% of demand.
  • Poland also has its foreign market closed due to outbreaks of Avian Influenza, so it has even more surpluses.  
  • This is being transferred to the entire value chain, starting with the farms, located in areas already very affected by their agricultural and livestock component, without other reinforcing industries.
  • The birds that They have no outlet on the market They are being left unslaughtered on farms, with the consequent fattening of them, which makes them unsuitable for sale. Every day counts, since more than 46 million birds are produced monthly in our country.
  • The costs of slaughter, transportation and processing, combined with the lack of sales, increase their losses and make them unviable.
  • From the beginning We have demanded financial support for cold storage of this production, in order to avoid this situation on the farms and progressively adapt our production to the current situation, thus minimizing losses.
  • Support measures for cold storage are being adopted in Europe for the dairy sector and for the meat sector (sheep, goats and cattle), but not the poultry.
  • This fact has been denounced by the associations AVEC and ELPHA in a letter sent to the European Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, and the Commissioner for Trade, Phil Hogan, dated April 21. In Europe More than 850,000 tons of poultry meat are imported every year from countries outside the EU, mainly Brazil, Thailand or Ukraine, and these imports continue despite the fact that the drop in demand in the euro zone represents between 20% and 40%, depending on the country.
  • Spain also imports 234,000 tons of chicken from other countries every year. (both from European countries and third countries), agreements that are being maintained despite the fall in domestic demand.
  • In Spain, only the Basque Country has transferred this aid to its local companies, also including the poultry sector. These aids are included in the Official Gazette of the Basque Country, dated April 20, 2020, referring to the order of April 8, 2020, of the Minister of Economic Development and Infrastructure.
  • At Propollo we have requested from the Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Luis Planas Puchades, the urgent need to convey to the European Commission the immediate adoption of support measures for the poultry sector; as has already been done with other sectors, and even more so when poultry consumption represents the national 24% in production and the largest meat consumed among Spaniards.
  • As we stated in our communication to the Ministry, “the entire poultry chain is at serious risk of collapsing if this situation continues, so the group of companies represented here once again requests your support with the following measures:
    • Financial aid for freezing and cold storage of poultry products.
    • Request the European Commission to take action on the import of poultry meat from third countries
    • “Support for the maintenance of reproductive strains, vital for the functioning of the sector once the crisis is over.”

Propollo It brings together more than 65 companies, with more than 5,000 farms and production centers, 281 cutting and processing plants, and directly employs more than 40,000 professionals, representing 90% of the sector.

THE POULTRY SECTOR DEMANDS URGENT MEASURES FROM THE GOVERNMENT AND THE EU DUE TO THE COLLECTIVE SALES IN THE HORECA CHANNEL AND COLLECTIVES

Production planned to respond to Easter or international tourism in summer faces losses that could exceed 600 million euros

Propollo, which represents the 90% of the poultry sector, requests financial and fiscal support from national and European public administrations for cold storage, as well as to encourage sales in the national and international market

MADRID, April 8, 2020. The Interprofessional Association of Poultry Farming of Chicken Meat (Propollo), has made a appeal to the Government of Spain, through the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, as well as the European Comission, to respond to the production and employment crisis that is already affecting the poultry sector due to the lack of activity in the HORECA sector during Easter, and the international and local tourism forecasts for the summer due to the COVID-19 emergency.

After the exemplary response of the poultry sector to society during the first two weeks of confinement in March, when it had to increase production output to the distribution channel (large and medium-sized stores, hypermarkets and retailers) to 25%, with the extra costs logistics and personnel that this means, poultry farmers saw sales stagnate starting on the 27th of the same month, up to the usual levels in retail, and without activity in HORECA.

The absence of international tourism at Easter (more than 7.1 million visitors in April 2019), and the summer forecasts, when a 63% of spending equivalent to €54 billion is concentrated for more than 64 million visitors, will generate a decrease in demand for poultry meat also in the retail channel.

It is estimated that chicken consumption among international tourists ranges between 16 and 41 million kilos, for an average consumption of 200g/stay or 500g/stay. By autonomous communities, the largest falls in chicken consumption are expected in Catalonia (17,54%), Community of Andalusia (16,03%) and Madrid (14%), according to Propollo analysis. 

The total production of birds (chicken) each month is around 46 million copies, of which a 25% are derived to the HORECA channel. The collapse in demand for this channel has a special effect on the roast chicken section. According to figures from the previous year, only Demand for roast chickens represented 65% of sales in summer 2019, closely linked to large events and tourism on the coast.

The losses derived from the drop in demand could mean up to 600 million euros for the poultry sector. Its effects are already noticeable in companies, many of which are SMEs and family businesses.

In order to alleviate these effects, from Propollo The following measures are requested:

  • Subsidy lines for cold storage incentive (frozen), given the high impact it would have on production prices, in order not to lose the processed product.  
  • Support to maintain parental populations, which will be reduced if their breeding is not possible as a protection measure.
  • Incorporation of poultry meat ICEX sector program for export support campaigns, since it is one of the few sectors not considered.
  • Tax reduction that tax the activity of livestock farmers and industrialists in the poultry meat sector, in line with its role as an essential sector to supply food products to the population.

For Antonio Sanchez, President of Propollo:

“"We are facing a critical situation for the livestock and agri-food sector in general, but with a special impact on the poultry meat sector, which represents 23% of national production."

“The incidence of the fall in tourism in products such as roast chickens has a catastrophic impact on producers and farms, especially vulnerable due to their family and rural profile in many cases.”

"At Propollo we demand an immediate action plan from public administrations, since the consequences for employment and the business fabric are already here, and as an essential sector for the supply of essential products to Spanish consumers, we are assuming an exemplary commitment to respond to this demand, incurring extraordinary costs, for which we need immediate support”.

THE DISTRIBUTION OF POULTRY MEAT GROWS BY 25% IN MARCH

Madrid concentrated a demand of more than 410 tons in two days (March 10 and 11), while Catalonia and Andalusia grew above 10% in their first week of confinement

MADRID, April 2, 2020. The Interprofessional Association of Poultry Farming of Chicken Meat (Propollo: www.propollo.es), which brings together more than 65 associated companies throughout Spain, has analyzed the evolution of demand for chicken, turkey and other birds in the distribution channel during the first weeks of March, the first month of the coronavirus incidence in our country.

According to data from its associates, since the beginning of the closure of schools and educational centers, first in Madrid (March 11), and until March 27, The sale of this type of meat in distribution channels has increased nationally by 25% (large and medium-sized stores, hypermarkets, and retailers) with respect to the previous usual volume, which was around 24,000 mt per week.

In total they have been placed in supermarkets more than 6,000 extra tons in the week of March 9 to 15, by 3,600tm in the week of March 16 to 22, and has normalized again in the week of March 23 to 29. This represents increases of 25% and 15%, respectively in the first two weeks. On the other hand, turkey also saw increases in distribution demand without affecting the normal production rate.

The general increase in demand in distribution was accompanied by a drastic reduction of the HORECA channel (Hospitality, Restaurants and Cafes) to zero, so direct sales points to consumers have absorbed this production, which has been responded to normally from the sector.

Total, Propollo brings together more than 65 companies, with more than 5,000 farms and production centers, 281 cutting and processing plants, and directly employs more than 40,000 professionals, representing the 90% of the sector.

Madrid and Catalonia lead the way in consumption  

By autonomous communities, Madrid, the first to adopt measures to close schools, registered a demand of more than 410 MT only on March 10 and 11, which represents an increase in 15%, which has risen to the national average of 25% in the period analyzed. In the first week of general confinement, Catalonia recorded a peak demand with 13.8% (470 Tm); Meanwhile in Andalusia It was 10% (520 MT). These two communities are the ones that consume the most poultry meat.

For Jordi Montfort, Secretary General of Propollo and spokesman for the Association, “The sector keeps all its production centers active and is currently committed to the health of workers to continue with normal supply to the market, where a stabilization of the demand curve is expected for the month of April. The management team is in permanent contact with the Public and Health Administrations to inform the sector of the different changes in the guidelines, being one of the industries with the highest demands and standards in terms of biosafety for all personnel.”

Consumer recommendations

Propollo thanks the professionals and production companies, as well as the entire distribution chain, for their involvement and commitment at this time. And some recommendations are made for consumers:

  • Respect the lockdown and make the fewest trips abroad.
  • Opt for home delivery through reference companies to the extent possible.
  • Do not accumulate unnecessarily excess food stock, although you can make a planned purchase based on the storage conditions you have in your home to avoid unnecessary trips.
  • Follow basic rules of hygiene and disinfection of hands and surfaces, as well as food handling areas in the kitchen to avoid cross contamination (cooked foods/raw foods).
  • Cook food and respect their conservation times once cooked.