2120 final report.pdf - Agra CEAS Consulting

APPENDIX 1: MEMBER STATE REPORTSA1.9. ItalyA1.9.1. OverviewDirective 1999/74/EC was only transcribed into national legislation in July 2003 103 and the intention isto prohibit the production of eggs in unenriched cage systems from 2012. The Italian industry is bipolarwith a large backyard flock and a few very large commercial producers. Just 0.1% of allproducers accounted for 84% of laying hens in 2000 and the industry is expected to haveconsolidated further in the last few years. Total production in 2002 was just under 13 billion eggsfrom almost 54 million laying hens, the third largest laying flock in the EU. Commercial producersalmost all operate caged systems and there is little tradition of alternative production.Although the largest packer, Eurovo, accounts for almost a quarter of all eggs packed, the packingsector is fairly fragmented with the top four packers accounting for only half of all eggs packed.The Italian processing sector is very large and processes 37% of total Italian production in addition toa small quantity of imported eggs. The Italian industry is fully integrated with the same companiesbreeding, rearing, compounding feed and producing and processing eggs making Eurovo also thelargest processor.A1.9.2. Egg productionThe Italian egg sector the third largest in the EU with production of 12.9 billion eggs in 2003 from alaying flock of almost 54 million laying hens. Almost a fifth of Italian laying hens are kept in backyardflocks of less than 350 laying hens 104 . Of the remaining commercial egg production, the vast majority,96.5%, is from caged systems, with barn systems accounting for 2.4% and the semi-intensive system 105for less than 0.5%. Organic production accounts for slightly more than 0.5%.The geographical focus of Italian egg production is around the Po Valley in the north, although muchof this is fairly new and production in the south is actually more stable over time.The Italian egg sector is one of the most organised of the agricultural sectors in terms of verticalintegration. This allows for a complete production and distribution cycle within the same companyand it provides full traceability for consumers, including the ability to trace the people in charge ofeach stage of production. Packers do source some eggs from independent producers on contract,but this is not particularly common and most of the production facilities are owned by packers.103 Legislative Decree no. 267, July 2003.104 Directive 1999/74/EC does not apply to flocks of this size.105 Whilst the Italian outdoor sector typically uses the semi-intensive variant, some producers do stock more extensively outdoors. DGAgri data suggests that around 10% of outdoor producers used a free range system in 2001. However, the current proportion ofproducers using the free range system is unknown and will be insignificant given the overall scale of the outdoor sector.219