Contact: Mr Liam Butler
Present policy for the Irish egg sector evolved from the Poultry Industry Forum, which reported in 1996. Central to the development strategies set out in the Report was the emphasis placed on competitiveness (through rationalisation by scale etc.) and quality assurance schemes (delivery on safety and a quality product).
In recent years the Irish egg sector has been enabled to rationalise through the availability of generous national/FEOGA funding for egg-packing centres. Even so the task is still incomplete and further rationalisation is needed in this area. But for that assistance however the egg sector would not have been able to face up to challenges in the market place, in particular the move to central distribution and the growing threat of imports.
A Quality Assurance Scheme for eggs was introduced in March 1999. With growing participation the hope is that this will strengthen competitiveness in the sector. It has met with an enthusiastic response and wide public acclaim. The Scheme has the full backing of the Food Safety Authority.
In a sector which is constantly under pressure from tight margins investment aid is vital for modernising capital structures in the context of further rationalisation measures. A desirable condition of future grant aid would be that it apply only to Quality Assurance Scheme participants.
Interest in the Quality Assurance Scheme has been expressed by several packing centres in NI. As a consequence there may be an opportunity to induce active participation in developing cross-border links in this sector and in the process considerably enhance scale economies by offering grant-aid for linked projects. The larger benefit of such linkages would be the raising of avian health standards with in the island.
Aside from the possibility of horizontal integration measures it may also be opportune to encourage the egg sector along the road to vertical integration by developing added value egg products e.g. cooked eggs, processed egg products, dessert products, etc..
As to grant aid levels for approved investment programmes, the Irish egg sector has enjoyed in recent years higher than normal grant levels by virtue of the low margins in the sector and the urgent need to encourage rationalisation. A continuation of this policy is desirable and overall would not add significantly to public cost.
With Objective 1 status applying for only a limited further period and them to a portion of the country only there is a compelling case for setting capital grants at a higher level. Many of the present large food companies have grown faster with the help of grant aids. They might now be confined to SMEs to give them the opportunity to develop apace.