Chicken farmers in Spain have warned of disruption to poultry production if they are not paid a fair price for rearing the animals
While the costs of production go up, the price farmers are able to sell their chickens at is not. According to Spain’s Union of Small Farmers (Unión de Pequeños Agricultores y Ganaderos or UPA), they are not being paid a fair price for the rearing and fattening work carried out by chicken farmers.
There are real fears that this could mean a reduction in the supply of chicken on the market, leading to increased prices. At the same time, a shortage of chicken in butchers’ shops and supermarkets could lead people to choose alternative meat or non-animal protein products, decreasing demand and further harming the chicken sector.
The UPA farmers’ organisation has warned that “If there is no increase in the price paid to farmers, there will be protests in front of the integrators and their employers.”
In Spain, more than 80% of the chickens slaughtered are processed in just ten integrated meat companies, such as the Murcia magnate Fuertes Group.
“Their power is enormous, and so is their responsibility,” say the UPA. “We are only asking for what is fair – that farmers receive a price for their work that is adequate to the increased costs they incur.”
The average price per kilo paid by end consumers in Spain is 3.29 euros – a rise of 35% in the space of just a few months – but at the moment farmers are receiving barely 15 cents of this, less than 5%.
What’s more, the poultry sector in general carries a large debt of more than 500 million euros due to heavy initial investments needed to modernise chicken farms.
At the same time, this could be an opportunity to further enhance Spain’s commitment to caring for the environment and reducing its impact on the Earth’s climate.
Image: Archive
Source: Murcia Today
