Fears for egg farmers as EU ‘sleepwalks into disaster’

An influential committee of MPs today warns of a “potential commercial disaster” over the regulations which could lead to cheaper imports undercutting UK producers.

Farmers have spent hundreds of millions complying with the new minimum standards for caged hens but the industry has been warning for a year that a third of all the laying hens in the European Union will be in illegal cages when the EU directive takes effect on January 1.

It has prompted criticism that the European Commission has no plan for preventing illegal eggs from abroad undercutting the business of farmers who have invested in the new higher-cost sheds.

Now the all-party EFRA committee of MPs has called for an eleventh-hour effort to make sure law-abiding farmers do not lose out.

An introduction to the report by chairwoman Anne McIntosh, Conservative MP for Thirsk & Malton, says: “The European Commission is sleepwalking into a potential commercial disaster.

“Money will be wasted and UK producers will be left at a competitive disadvantage if cheaper, illegal and non-compliant eggs and egg products can be imported from other European countries.

“Several member states have not provided data to the commission about the preparedness of their caged egg producers and, thus far, the commission has failed to deal with the threat of large-scale non-compliance across the EU.

“We recommend that the powers and resources of the EU’s Food and Veterinary Office be strengthened to help ensure all member states impose robust inspection regimes sufficient to enforce compliance.

“We also call on the Government to confirm whether it would be possible for the UK to take unilateral action against non-compliant egg imports.

“Any failure by the commission to enforce this new directive effectively will set a worrying precedent for other legislation intended to improve the welfare of farm animals.”

The report says Germany will ban caged systems altogether on the deadline day. Austria, Sweden and the Netherlands already have bans on old-style “battery cages” in place.

But Belgium, Cyprus, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Slovakia have admitted they do not expect to comply in time.

Hungary, Italy, Latvia and Malta, have said they do not have enough information to say. France, Greece and Spain, have not yet reported.

Some of the defaulters have already asked for more time and the EFRA committee – on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs – shares the UK industry’s concern that European Commission bosses will allow non-compliance to drift on rather than having a clampdown and being blamed for egg shortages.

MPs have heard evidence that a likely solution will be to turn a blind eye to battery eggs circulating within the countries where they are produced but it would be very hard to stop the cheaper products leaking across borders – especially in the form of egg powder and liquid egg for the baking industry.

It calls for zero tolerance of non-compliance.

Even if the commission got its act together, farmers here will still have to cope with cheap eggs coming in from outside the EU.

The UK and EU governments say they cannot do much about those because of trading agreements but MPs suggest Europe should renegotiate so it can set standards for the imports it will allow.

Last night, the European Commission’s offices in London issued a statement promising there would be no concessions on the deadline but adding that it would be largely up to individual governments to enforce it.

It said: “There will be no postponement to the ban on conventional cages. Member states are primarily responsible to ensure that eggs not produced in compliance with new standards are not legally marketable.

“Nevertheless, the Commission has been concentrating its actions to ensure member states take the necessary measures.”

A spokeswoman said it was too early to start talking about penalties for non-compliance. But Mrs McIntosh said the commission had to start “talking tough and backing it up”.

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