November 7, 2024 | 14:31 GMT +7
November 7, 2024 | 14:31 GMT +7
Hotline: 0913.378.918
This case could be a indication of big problems for the entire poultry industry, which is braced for painful changes.
Hydina Slovensko has been grappling with financial woes in recent years. In 2022, it recorded a staggering net loss of €4 million, marking its worst performance to date. The company, which has been operating since 2009, has been in the red since 2019, a trend that has only worsened over time.
Local press reported that Hydina Slovensko’s problems could be partly attributed to the upcoming ban on the sale of eggs from cage farms, which is due to come into force in 2025.
Daniel Molnár, director of the Poultry Union of Slovakia, explained that big European retail chains notified their Slovak partners they would no longer accept eggs from cage farms from next year, though the existing veterinary laws mandate the ban on this production method neither in Slovakia nor at European level.
The Slovak poultry industry is in dire need of government support to the tune of €65 million. According to farmers, this financial injection is crucial for facilitating the transition to free-range production. However, the prospects of the appeal to allocate this money remain uncertain, and businesses are warning of a potential wave of bankruptcies in the coming months if funds for the transition are not secured.
“If a sufficient number of cage farms in Slovakia are not reconstructed by 2025, there is a real risk that eggs from Slovakia could be gradually replaced by foreign suppliers in international retail chains,” Molnár cautioned, highlighting the potential threat to the local industry.
Molnár also revealed that poultry breeders are extremely concerned over possible fraud in the labelling of eggs from other EU countries. He explained that, as far as the Slovak farmers are concerned, the transition towards free-range production is sluggish in other European countries, so it is not entirely clear how the new standards will be met.
The need to fund the transition comes at a time when Slovak poultry farmers are experiencing a lasting cost crisis. Molnár said that over the last 2 years, farmers saw their costs rising across the board, with electricity and gas costs going through the roof.
“In 2023, we also noticed a significant increase in the prices of packaging materials, an increase in fuel prices, as well as an increase in labour costs due to rising inflation,” he explained.
(Poultryworld)
(VAN) Progress at the UN’s biodiversity summit, Cop16, in Cali, Colombia, has been slow. Frustratingly so.
(VAN) Sophisticated automation enables users to send hundreds of data collection requests with a single click.
(VAN) Brutal economic situation has inflicted misery on farmers who struggle to turn a profit and forced some to look for alternative streams of revenue.
China has reinforced its emergency food supply in response to increasing extreme weather events and natural disasters, an official said.
(VAN) Advocates urge government to allow ‘precision breeding’ to combat disease, but RSPCA warns of ethical dangers.
(VAN) HB4 wheat’s USDA approval will enable Bioceres to 'move forward with nonregulated field activities for product development and commercialization,' CEO Federico Trucco said in September.
(VAN) Acute food insecurity is set to increase in magnitude and severity in 22 countries and territories.