New legislation threatens Scotland’s egg producers

SCOTLAND’S egg producers will face a major threat to the their livelihood when a European Union ban on eggs from battery chickens comes into force from the beginning of January next year.

While it will be illegal to sell eggs from battery hens kept in cramped conditions, egg producers will still sell those from battery hens housed in bigger cages now meeting new EU specifications.

Dennis Surgenor, secretary of the Scottish Egg Producer Retailers Association, warned the market was likely to be inundated with illegal cheap imports from countries flouting the law and also from UK producers ignoring the legislation.

John Dalli, EU health consumer commissioner, said yesterday that countries failing to meet the legislation which has had a 13-year run-in period, will be fined, but also said some “noncompliant” eggs could be sold to industrial processors but not retailers.

Latest figures show Scotland’s egg production has a value of about £30 million annually while the total UK figure is £550m.