Poultry farmers cry foul at 'unfair' prices

Rising food costs have attracted much publicity in recent weeks, the latest claim being that food inflation is running at 19 per cent.

That may be true but farmers are not receiving enough to cover vastly increased costs, according to Charles Bourns, the chairman of the poultry board of the NFU of England and Wales.

He says production costs in the chicken meat sector have risen by nearly 25 per cent, which equates to 14p per kg liveweight, in the past year. A survey carried out by the NFU revealed that, on average, producers are making a loss of 2.7 per cent on every bird they produce when all costs are included.

Bourns, speaking at the annual Pig and Poultry Fair at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire, added: "A recent British Marketing Survey showed consumers are still actively seeking to buy assured British chicken but we need to ensure enough money is passed back down the supply chain to make businesses economically viable in the longer term.

"Producers cannot continue to absorb the cost of rising input prices without receiving a fairer return."

Bourns said typical feed costs for poultry at £221 per tonne are 42 per cent higher than a year ago. Costs of production are estimated at 69.85p per kg, but producers are only receiving on average 68.08p per kg at the farm gate.

Much the same is happening in the dairy sector despite the fact that milk prices are significantly higher than last spring.

However, Robert Wiseman Dairies yesterday confirmed it was to increase its ex-farm price of milk by 0.5p per litre, as from 1 May.