2120 final report.pdf - Agra CEAS Consulting

APPENDIX 1: MEMBER STATE REPORTSAnimal welfare is not a prominent issue in Brazil, and there is little evidence that it will soon becomeone. Although some producers are aware of the attention the issue is receiving in the EU and theUS, it seems unlikely that anything will be done unless required by importing countries. And, giventhe small role exports play, importing countries are not likely to exercise much influence in theforeseeable future.We were unable to find performance information that distinguished between different levels ofautomation. The information on Brazil provided by the International Egg Commission describesproduction as “100% caged”. However, we also know that most producers are not fully automated.Ideally, if the data were available, we would distinguish among systems on the basis of the extent towhich they were automated. We have provided separate information on the production of whiteeggs and brown eggs in both unmolted and molted flocks. As mentioned previously, approximately75% of Brazil’s production is comprised of white eggs. Layers of brown eggs are slightly larger andtherefore consume more feed and require more space. They also produce slightly fewer eggs percycle.We are told that in “normal times”, forced molting is used by 80% to 90% of producers in Brazil, atleast the larger, commercial producers. However, due to an outbreak of “laringotraqueite” inBastos, forced molting in that region is currently banned and will not be re-introduced for at least ayear.When molting is permitted, an estimated 60% of those who use the practice have integrated it intotheir systems and therefore molt their flocks regardless of the near-term economic conditions. Theremaining growers apply molting techniques from time-to-time, depending on near-term economicconditions. The “in-and-outers” usually gear their decision on molting to the price outlook for theEaster holiday, a customary period of heavy demand. When molting is used, producers commonlykeep their flocks laying through two or three cycles. The number of laying days can therefore rangefrom around 420 days (1-cycle) to around 567 days (2-cycles) to around 714 days (3-cycles).Table A2.3 below summarises performance measures of Brazilian egg production for one-cycle(unmolted) flocks in the production of white eggs and brown eggs and for two/three cycle (molted)flocks. The information on unmolted flocks is based on current performance records while that formolted flocks was collected in 1995 and is therefore somewhat dated. While we expect that thelaying cycle for molted flocks has not changed much (assuming this represents a blend of two andthree-cycle systems), we expect that feeding efficiency has continued to improve and is now close tothat shown for the unmolted flocks.334