UK organic poultry production on an even footing

Ben Bradshaw, the Minister for Nature Conservation and Fisheries, has announced that organic poultry producers will be allowed to continue to benefit from the derogation which permits higher stocking densities and flock sizes if their buildings were in place before 24 August 1999. It will put UK producers on an even footing with those in the rest of Europe.

Mr Bradshaw said 'I've carefully considered the representations my Department has received. I've weighed-up the effects on the organic poultry sector as a whole, including those producers already complying with lower stocking densities, and I have decided that producers should benefit from the derogation until 2010, in line with the poultry producers in Europe'.

In July Defra officials wrote to the industry and asked for their views on the expiry of the derogation. 21 responses were received from a variety of industry representatives, including the National Farmers Union, individual producers, producers' associations, organic certification bodies and multiple retailers. The majority proposed that the date for the expiry of the derogation should be the same as the date contained in the European Regulation - 2010.