Minister in pledge over egg imports

Jim Paice said he wanted to make it clear that British consumers deserve to see only eggs from hens kept in better welfare cages on supermarket shelves once the EU-wide 2012 'battery' cage ban comes in.

Britain has phased out battery hen cages over the past few years, ahead of an EU ban.

However, other member states have lagged behind in eradicating cages for hens, allowing them to keep producing eggs at a reduced cost and meaning they can sell them more cheaply and price British farmers out of the market – a state of affairs which has yielded much disquiet in the industry.

Speaking at the Egg and Poultry Conference, Mr Paice confirmed he had written to the European Commission seeking a ban on eggs from conventional cages being traded between member states after January 1, 2012. He also announced two new regulations on poultry welfare which he said reinforced the Government's commitment to high welfare standards.

The Government wants to set a legal maximum for storing chickens for meat production and bring about a ban on beak-trimming, a practice used to prevent laying hens harming each other in colony systems which welfare campaigners have been campaigning against for some time.

Mr Paice said: "The UK industry has worked hard to convert out of battery cages ahead of the European deadline – so it wouldn't be fair to them to have to compete with eggs from other European countries that haven't met the deadline.

"I've told the Commission we won't want to see any eggs imported from European countries that haven't complied with the conventional cage ban after 2012." Mr Paice added that he wanted to see a legal stocking density for chickens of 39 kg/m2.

"For the first time there will be a legal maximum stocking density for meat chickens, which will provide a good baseline for our already high standards of poultry welfare – and much of the industry already meets many of the new requirements.

"I'm absolutely committed to banning beak trimming in the long term. But if we ban beak trimming immediately, it would mean worse welfare for laying hens. That's why I've listened to the advice of the Farm Animal Welfare Council to allow infra-red technology to be used in beak trimming as we work towards a total ban in the future."

Both regulations are subject to debate in the House of Commons and House of Lords before they can be made and come into force.

NFU poultry board chairman Charles Bourns said he welcomed he pledge.

"It is clear that fair trade in the single market will be complicated by the estimated 100 million-plus birds that could still be reared in conventional cages in other EU member states after the ban comes into effect. We urge Commission officials to address this potential disparity as soon as possible."

However, the NFU also expressed its reservations that the UK interpretation of EU legislation for meat chicken welfare will be stricter than other EU member states.

The NFU believes the legisla-tion laid before Parliament regarding stocking density will put farmers in Great Britain at a competitive disadvantage.

Mr Bourns added: "This is gold plating by our government and it will be damaging to the UK industry. Approximately 55 per cent of chicken imports into the UK come from Holland and Poland where producers have had to come down to 42kg/m2, their new legal limit. This means NFU members will not be able to compete with this chicken being imported into our market."