On 1 June 2020, a two-year informational and promotional campaign was launched under the name: “Poultry with a European Passport”. The campaign will promote high-quality poultry meat from the European Union on the markets of the People’s Republic of China, including Hong Kong and Japan.

For years, the European Union has been one of the world’s leading exporters of poultry meat. In 2019, 74% of EU production came from six EU member states: Poland (2.6 million tons), Spain (1.73 million tons), France (1.7 million tons), Germany (1.6 million tons), Italy (1.3 million tons) and the Netherlands (1 million tons)[1]. The largest share in the commodity structure is represented by broilers (12.87 million tons), followed by turkeys (2 million tons) and ducks (0.53 million tons). The European Union is among the world’s largest poultry producers, with only the United States (22.2 million tons) and China (16.8 million tons) producing more. A similar production volume is reached only by Brazil (14.1 million tons). Whereas a very positive feature distinguishing the European Union among other leading producers is the unique style of bird rearing and poultry meat production.

Both production and consumption of poultry on a global scale is growing constantly. This species is, for many reasons, one of the most popular among consumers and is expected to continue to grow in popularity. Knowledge of product characteristics and awareness of its origin will therefore become increasingly important for consumers. The “Poultry with a European Passport” campaign, aimed at meat industry professionals, suppliers, distributors, chefs, HoReCa sector etc., through them also reaches individual consumers and encourages them to seek food information.

European poultry is produced in accordance with high standards and strict food production regulations. One of the key issues of food law in the European Union is the “farm to fork” concept, which means that all participants involved in food production are equally involved and at the same time equally responsible for food safety. At the same time, the EU strategy introduced in 2020 as part of the implementation of the European Green Deal aims to further improve food quality (based on sustainable development) as well as ethical and environmental standards. This, among others, imposes an obligation on poultry producers to further implement innovative solutions in the scope of sustainable agriculture, reducing the impact of their activities on the environment. This will result in further improvements in product standards and quality.

The “Poultry with a European Passport” campaign promotes chicken meat, as well as other poultry species such as turkey, duck and goose, which are very commonly reared in Europe. Each of these meats is distinguished by its taste, nutritional values and culinary applications. The aim of the “Poultry with a European Passport” campaign is to raise awareness among Chinese and Japanese consumers about the quality, production and safety of poultry meat from EU countries. The project provides extensive information on, among others, the standards of poultry farming and meat production in force in the European Union, which are the foundation of the high quality and reputation that EU products enjoy around the world. A parallel objective of the “Poultry with a European passport” campaign is to present the wide product portfolio of the EU poultry industry.

The European Union is also the leading exporter of quality down and feathers, mainly from geese[2]. In 2019, the EU-28 exported 11.2 thousand tons of feathers worth almost 240 million Euro[3]. The main customers for this raw material, which is used to fill luxury duvets, pillows and clothes for winter and extreme conditions, are countries such as Japan, Taiwan, the United States and Vietnam.

Under the “Poultry with a European Passport” programme, a series of meetings is planned with representatives of the Chinese and Japanese poultry sector, food sector, HoReCa and institutions supporting food export. A promotional campaign in digital media will be conducted. We also encourage you to follow our Poultry with a European Passport campaign profile on WeChat.

[1] https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/food-farming-fisheries/farming/documents/poultry-meat-dashboard_en.pdf

[2] https://oec.world/en/profile/hs92/bird-feathers-and-skins

[3] https://madb.europa.eu/madb/statistical_form.htm