ROB SIMPSON of the Yorkshire and North East NFU reveals why foreign chickens are eating into our seedcorn as a nation

The eating habits of the British public are in a perpetual state of flux.

In the last 20 years, the traditional home-cooked meat and two veg meal has been under siege from our high-tech, no-time, fat-free, modern lifestyle.

An increasing number of people are demanding pre-prepared, oven-ready meals and pre-packed, pre-sliced meat to fit in with their lifestyles. I should probably admit, at this point, that I am one of these people.

Chicken is now by far the most popular meat eaten in Britain today. Consumption of chicken meat in the UK continued to soar last year to a total of 1.7 million tonnes. But despite its growing popularity, British farmers are not able to take full advantage of this growth in consumption.

Some 350,000 tonnes of poultry meat eaten in the UK is imported - a three-fold increase in the last ten years. This imported produce is worth nearly £277 million a year - money that could be going into Britain's own agriculture industry.

The pound's continued strength against the euro has undermined the UK's agriculture and manufacturing industries. And if you factor in the Government's eagerness to embellish EU-wide legislation, the result is a British poultry sector which is continually at a disadvantage to foreign competitors.

Through its Poultry Action Plan the NFU is determined to close the gap between UK consumption of poultry meat and eggs and UK production, and it is calling on the

Government to work with - and not against - the industry in attaining this goal.

There is a tidal wave of further environmental and welfare legislation looming and the NFU is very concerned that the Government could further "gold plate" this legislation.

Imports of poultry meat from foreign countries with lower production costs have caused considerable pressure on UK farmers who are struggling to operate in a completely unsubsidised, but highly-regulated home market.

In the egg sector, public pressure has led to the introduction of improved welfare standards for laying hens across Europe. But those same high standards do not apply elsewhere in the world which opens the door to a flood of cheaper and sub-standard eggs into this country.

This invariably has the effect of forcing UK farmers who produce high-quality poultry meat and eggs out of business, while at the same time, sucking in cheaper, foreign produce.

The result is that the more our government tries to impose impractical and onerously expensive legislation on to UK farming the more sub-standard produce will enter our country.

The British Egg Industry Council estimates that the EU Welfare of Laying Hens Directive will cost the UK egg industry £431 million in capital costs alone, with increasing running costs of about £109m a year.

British farmers face further costs in complying with environmental legislation, such as Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC), Climate Change Levy (CCL) and Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ) legislation.

Three years ago the industry launched a farm assurance scheme which now accounts for over 80 per cent of all poultry production in the UK, evidence enough of farmers' willingness to listen and respond to what the consumer really wants.

But there is a real danger that if the Government does not work in partnership with farmers, that it will regulate the industry out of existence.

That is why the NFU is calling on government to work with the industry to stem the tide of rising food imports and to develop a sustainable future for British farming families.

Updated: 08:49 Tuesday, May 21, 2002