June 11, 2013
Poland kills chickens over cheap egg prices, high feed cost
In the last few weeks, millions of Polish chickens were sent to slaughterhouses buoyed by low egg prices and the high cost of chicken feed.
"We estimate that in May alone, seven million chickens were sent to the slaughter," confirmed Rafal Ratajczak, chairman of' the National Chamber of Poultry and Feed.
Ratajczak said that mass culls were a common practice among large producers, but he acknowledged that the scale of the recent slaughters is highly notable.
According to producers, losses as high as PLN0.07 (US$0.02) per day were faced on keeping chickensalive.
"The cost of feed has already reached PLN0.20 (US$0.06) per day," Ratajczak revealed. "During this time, a hen will lay one egg, for which the producer gets PLN0.13 (US$0.04)," he said.
"So each egg is a loss for the producer. If chicken feed sellers are demanding payment of debts, then you have to send the birds to the slaughter," he concluded.