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update:Jul 28, 2006
Will the EU be de- or inde- pendent?
A question I hear posed often, is whether there is a
future for the poultry industry in Europe. There is an easy answer: of course
there is!
A question I hear posed often, is whether there is a future for the poultry
industry in Europe. There is an easy answer: of course there is!
How this future will look like cannot be answered at this moment, nor can it
be answered in the space given here.
To start with, we have to separate
the perspectives of the egg and the meat market. Both will follow a different
path, but for both it is important to remember that consumers prefer fresh
products of high quality.
Transport costs and trends in packaging may
have a major impact on what can and will be shipped over long distances.
But most important is: what political decisions will be made by
governments in regard to tax, levies and production-cost-sensitive measures
relating to animal welfare, environment and food safety?
While these
latter issues may have most impact at a local level, they may also have a
dramatic effect as soon they are implemented by importing and exporting
countries.
The current AI problems show that a market can easily be
disturbed as soon a major disease like AI is in the mix. Borders are closed and
products have to come from different providers.
This raises the question
of whether we will have sufficient production regions in the world to swap
around as soon there is any major market disruption.
We have to consider
AI, but also cannot forget about the possibility of other diseases, the
discovery of unwanted contaminants or production practises, or a sudden change
in value of the currency in producing countries.
Can an economic region
afford to become largely dependent on one or two major suppliers?
In modern business
practise, no company want to be in such a situation, because one mishap could
put you on the line. It is for that reason that I strongly believe that there
will be a future for the European poultry industry, but that future may look
different to the situation today.
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