Food Drink Ireland (FDI), the Ibec group representing the food and drink sector has today (Friday, December 1) published a ‘Poultry Sustainability Roadmap’.
It details how the poultry processing sector has delivered considerable progress across a number of sustainability metrics over recent years, while playing an increasing role in meeting consumers’ needs for a healthy, balanced diet.
According to FDI, the report highlights that the integrated nature of the Irish poultry sector provides a strong infrastructure to manage resource use in a way that minimises environmental impact.
Poultry sector
FDI has stressed that the sector has the lowest emissions intensity across the EU for poultry meat and enhanced manure storage systems at farm level.
In addition, litter spreading is focused on optimising the nutrient value and minimising emissions to protect the local environment.
There is a strong focus on biosecurity and antibiotic usage is below the EU/UK average with ongoing reductions, it added.
Over 70% of plastic packaging now consists of recycled content with almost all paper and board Forest Stewardship Certified.
In order to achieve its sustainability targets the Irish poultry industry will continue to address a wide range of issues, according to FDI.
They include: Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; educating consumers; manure utilisation; renewable energy generation; flock health and welfare; nature impact; decarbonising processing; and the sectors contributing to local communities.
Paul Kelly, director of Food Drink Ireland said: “Ireland’s poultry sector will continue to deliver ongoing progress, but the sector needs to be prioritised at policy level.
“The sector also requires increased supply chain transparency, consistency of standards and increased efforts in advancing market access.”
Poultry Sustainability Roadmap
The roadmap states that a priority for the poultry sector will be to work with Bord Bia to further develop the carbon footprinting model to ensure it captures robust data, tracks individual performance against national averages and delivers a reporting mechanism that provides a uniform approach across the sector.
The roadmap states that the sector will work with feed suppliers to explore the potential to further develop a circular loop where poultry litter provides the organic nutrients for tillage crops, which in turn produce ingredients for poultry feed.
The sector will continue to invest in genetics to deliver breeding stock that deliver highly efficient production of meat and eggs, according to the ‘roadmap’.
The poultry sector is committed to working with stakeholders to agree relevant welfare indicators for each species and coordinate data tracking at national level, which combined with biosecurity data, would provide a complete picture of national performance over time.
Poultry processors will also engage with Meat Technology Ireland to embrace its work programme in relation to packaging and shelf life extension as part of efforts to minimise product and packaging waste.
“What is encouraging, in addition to enhancing its own systems to reach its sustainability targets, is its commitment to supporting local communities and contributing strongly to the development of the circular economy,” Kelly added.
Economics
According to FDI, the poultry sector (meat and eggs) remains a critical part of the rural economy in many parts of the country, delivering around €700 million in output and supports over 5,000 jobs.
Around 800 farms are involved in commercial poultry production in the Republic of Ireland.
The farm-gate value of output of the poultry meat sector has increased by 30% over the 2015 to 2022 period.
Poultry exports were valued at €350 million in 2022 according to Bord Bia’s Export Performance and Prospects report. This represents an increase of 20% relative to 2018.
The poultry sector (poultry meat and eggs) has a multiplier effect of 1.8 which means that every €10 million increase in the value of domestic output results in €18 million of additional output in the wider economy.
Poultry remains the most popular meat among Irish consumers, accounting for 75% of meat consumption growth since 2015 to reach around 45% market share.