Livestock professionals call for "a safeguarding plan" of the sector

Professionals in meat, milk, eggs and foie gras on Wednesday asked the public authorities to "put in place a plan to safeguard French animal production" increasingly competing with imports. "It is vital and urgent to act," defend these professionals in a manifesto at the initiative of the interprofession of pork (Inaporc), joined by that of egg (CNPO), aquaculture (Cipa), beef and sheep meat (Interbev), milk (Cniel), poultry (Anvol) and foie gras (Cifog).

These organizations generally bring together the links of production (breeders), processing (agri-food manufacturers) and distribution (brands). They consider that French livestock farming is "in danger", citing the "surge in imports", the "unfair competition" of countries subject to lower standards (growth promoting antibiotics, or animal meal to feed poultry or pigs, for example), the "increasing complexity or even impossibility of setting up a livestock farm", the "multiplication of inconsistent ideologies and regulations" and the " lack of remuneration".

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Financial support

This initiative comes two weeks after the publication of a report by the Court of Auditors that had triggered the emotion and anger of breeders. It recommended that the government "define and make public a strategy to reduce" the number of cows raised in France to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which are exposed to methane, a greenhouse gas, in large quantities. The signatories of the manifesto, gathered Wednesday at an event organized by Inaporc, ask the State to "financially support professionals (...) in the application of regulations" or to "facilitate" the expansion of farms.

In their sights, in particular, the expected revision of European animal welfare regulations. The European Health Authority (EFSA) has recommended limiting the size of piglet litters and banning cages for sows that give birth and suckle, which involves work on farms to provide them with more space.

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All new regulations must be evaluated economically beforehand, "said the president of Inaporc, Thierry Meyer, evoking an estimate for the French sector of a "disproportionate" cost of nine billion euros in ten years. According to him, "the Americans and Brazilians are on the lookout" and "are waiting for only one thing: that European production decreases to export pork to Europe".