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Avianza's view on the situation of the poultry meat sector

Following the request of some media of the vision of our interprofessional following the press release issued on October 17, 2023 by COAG, with the title "Chicken meat would triple its price to the consumer with the revision of animal welfare regulations proposed by the EU"(link), from Avianza we want to join this concern, which we share.

Our Secretary General, Jordi Montfort, analyzes in these statements the impact on the poultry meat production sector in Spain of a possible implementation of the EFSA recommendations, which is under evaluation by the European Commission.


Question: What is the status of the negotiation with the European Commission on this issue?


The deadlines of the European Commission are very clear. Right now they are evaluating an animal welfare regulation with an impact analysis in which the sectors involved have not been consulted. In other words, there has been neither a negotiation table nor a discussion table in which the producer or the producing countries have been able to raise their voice and be heard.

When it comes to animal welfare, we, the producers, are the first ones interested in our animals being well all the time. If an animal is not healthy, if an animal does not have the water, drink or feed it requires, if it does not have the space it requires or the conditions in which it is housed are not adequate, the animal simply does not produce, that is to say, it is not sustainable production. Therefore, the points described in this regulation lack, from our point of view, a very, very great technical rigor in the field.


They do not in any way reflect all the guarantees that we have in terms of animal welfare today, since here in Spain many of the animal welfare issues analyzed are complied with above and beyond the current regulations, and they are also certified. Therefore, I believe that the producer had a lot to say. He has not been taken into account.

In addition, in order to conform this regulation, what has been done is a documentary review of some scientific articles that, from our point of view, are biased, since they are not made with a scientific technical rigor as the one we are accustomed to use to guarantee the welfare of animals.

Question: What would the implementation of these recommendations by the European Commission mean from a socioeconomic or sustainability point of view? Would it have any positive, neutral or negative impact?


The biggest impact we would see is a reduction of almost 30% of the usable area we have today in farms. What does this mean? Well, of the almost 5,000 farms available, we would only have 3,592 usable farms left. Therefore, in order to compensate and to be able to supply the chicken market that is consumed today, we would have to build around 73% more houses. This would mean an investment of 1,800 million euros, which nobody is going to contribute because it will no longer be a profitable business, they would not be economically sustainable.

This also implies that there will be less population in rural areas, which is one of the issues we talk about most in Spain. There will no longer be farmers, as they will not be able to produce because it will not be profitable for them. They will leave. We have an average age among farmers of almost 50 years, all of them linked to the rural environment in Spain, so the next generations would be directly eliminated. Both because of the regulations to be complied with or all the associated bureaucracy, they will no longer be willing to take care of a poultry, chicken or turkey farm.


We are talking about an increase in costs, undoubtedly, but also about throwing away all the advances in genetic changes that have allowed us to be much more productive today and to guarantee food safety. We are throwing away 50 years of progress in selection after selection in each of the generations. Going backwards will lead us to keep animals on farms longer, up to 50% longer than the time required today to bring a chicken with a carcass weight of 2.5 kg to the market.

This means that the farmer will lose one cycle per year and that, in addition, the costs for feed, water, electricity, gas and emissions will increase, which is neither sustainable nor environmentally responsible.

QUESTION: Speaking about that increase, what could be the effect on the price of poultry meat in the market for consumers?


We estimate that although the price of the carcass, as Jaume Bernis of COAG mentioned in his press release, would triple, in the most consumed product in Spain, which is the breast, we could reach 15 € or 20 € per kilo (in the broiler species, which is the most consumed).


For most Spaniards, this increase would mean that chicken would become a luxury product for families, who would lose the possibility of accessing a very high quality protein, essential for the development of children, for example.


This would cause the 30% of the population at risk of poverty, according to the OECD, to reduce that minimum of 2 times per week in which they have access on average to a highly digestible protein, such as animal protein, at least in the case of poultry meat.

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AVIANZA COMMUNIQUE: A "World Poultry Day" with little to celebrate for the Spanish poultry meat production industry

After three years of overcoming the various crises affecting society as a whole, today, International Poultry Day, the sector is once again threatened by the implementation of regulations that would condition its competitiveness and decimate consumer choice.

Madrid, May 10, 2023. On the occasion of the meeting of its Board of Directors, AVIANZA, the majority association of the Spanish poultry meat sector, which brings together more than 65 associated companies, 5,000 farms and represents more than 90% of the companies linked to the chicken, turkey and quail meat sector, has decided to launch a joint statement to express its absolute concern at what it considers a new attack against one of the key sectors for the self-sufficiency and food diversity of our country.

  • "Today, May 10, marks World Poultry Day World Poultry DayBut we believe that there is little to celebrate, because despite being one of the strategic sectors of Spanish meat production, we are once again in the spotlight of possible regulations that would have dire consequences for consumers, both in Spain and in Europe as a whole.
  • One of the most recent threats comes from the European Commission itself, through the published recommendations of the EFSA (European Food Safety Agency) opinion. We believe that this study has not been transparent and is based on questionable scientific opinions, as well as lacking a comprehensive vision of the three pillars of sustainability: social, environmental and economic. We strongly recommend listening to the arguments put forward by AVEC / ELPHA / EPB and The Poultry Veterinary Study Group.
  • Its implementation would mean wiping out 70% of poultry meat production in Europe, causing a rise in costs (up to 3 times higher), the consequent repercussions along the entire value chain and pressure on a steadily rising CPI.
  • Once again, we would have a damaged population, with consumers who would see how affordable access to one of the main sources of quality proteins becomes more expensive, and for whom the supply of types of poultry to choose from would be reduced. We recall that Spain has a fifth of its population at risk of poverty according to the OECD, so making access to a basic shopping basket even more difficult for a vulnerable population is clearly unfair. Legislating cannot mean continuing to eliminate essential European productive sectors.
  • This measure is clearly ineffective, as it would reduce the competitiveness of our companies to the detriment of markets outside the EU where quality standards are infinitely far from those of our country.
  • Something that we are also seeing in other European markets with the adoption by the distribution channel of the ECC initiative (confusingly called the European Chicken Commitment), promoted by animal and vegan organizations. In this sense, it is necessary to call things by their name, since the ECC aims to eradicate the production of poultry meat in intensive farming systems by 2026.
  • An attack against the freedom of consumers to choose the type of product to consume, under supposed principles of animal welfare and control of production by their own organizations, clearly unnecessary, since practically 100% of the poultry meat production sold to the Retailer by our Spanish companies is already certified by Welfare Quality, an independent entity managed by IRTA, among others.
  • Finally, it is worth remembering that there are many strengths that have made the poultry meat sector a European benchmark in modernization of facilities, professionalization of its workforce and boosting internationalization, never before addressed. For all these reasons, we call for an in-depth, unbiased, transparent analysis, open to the opinion of consumers, in order to decide what type of poultry meat we want to promote and protect today and in the future.