EU plan 'will raise chicken cost'

It costs 60% more to farm chicken in the UK than in Thailand

People must be prepared to pay more for chicken if higher welfare standards proposed by the European Union come into force, a study has warned.

Farmers currently earn about 2p a chicken, but the study says this would vanish should new rules on the space given to factory-farmed birds come in.

Most chicken is reared in sheds with 38kg (84lb) of birds a square metre. This could be cut to 25kg (55lb).

This would raise costs by 13p per bird, Exeter University researchers said.

'Farmers unprepared'

According to the report, commissioned by the government, the plans would also mean higher costs in vet inspections and habitat improvement.

The new EU standard, which was published in draft form in May 2005, is still being negotiated, but according to the report most farmers are underestimating its impact if it comes into force.

And unless consumers pay more, we will see increased imports from Thailand and Brazil where the cost of production is already about 60% less than in the UK and where such high welfare standards do not apply, it warned.

Andrew Sheppard, of the Centre for Rural Research at the University of Exeter, said consumers had always said they wanted better welfare conditions but now was the time to "put a little more of their money where their mouth is".

He said the proposed legislation would mean most farmers would either have to keep fewer chickens or build more houses.

Something in the region of an extra 10p on the farm could become an extra 30p in the supermarket Andrew Sheppard

"Whichever choice the farmer makes, the overhead costs carried by each chicken will be increased," he said.

"That is in addition to extra capital and running costs required to ensure that new standards on air quality and temperature inside the house are never breached. There will also be more record keeping and new veterinary checks.

"Chickens sold in the supermarket for upwards of £3.50 are worth about £1.24 to the farmer. The new legislation will also increase costs for processors and extra costs are unlikely to be absorbed by retailers.

"With the detail of the new standards still under negotiation, it is impossible to say by how much prices must increase, but something in the region of an extra 10p on the farm could become an extra 30p in the supermarket."