The egg is just the tip of the iceberg: Ismea data and challenges of the Italian poultry supply chain

Every year twelve and a half billion eggs are produced in Italy (34 million per day) for a total value of 3.73 billion euros. These are the Ismea data that opened the event "The egg is just the tip of the iceberg" promoted by the Eurovo group together with Assoavi and MSD Animal Health and which describe a strategic supply chain for the national agri-food sector. The works explored the evolution of production models, with particular attention to animal welfare, biosecurity, precision nutrition and biotechnology applications. Ample space was also dedicated to the conditions necessary to ensure a sustainable future for the sector. In discussions with institutional representatives, central issues for the sector emerged: the protection of farmers' profitability, support for technological investments, updating the regulatory framework on related agricultural activities and the reciprocity of the rules with respect to imports from third countries. Among the most significant transformations is also the progressive development of in-ovo sexing technologies, which allow the sex of a chick's embryo to be determined directly inside the egg before hatching, which however require investments and adequate economic conditions to be extended along the supply chain.

"Like Eurovo, we believe that the value of the egg cannot be separated from the work and skills of all the people and companies that contribute to producing it, transforming it and bringing it to the table - said Silvia Lionello, director of organization and general services of the Eurovo group - For this reason we believe it is important that the supply chain has a recognizable and authoritative voice in the dialogue with the institutions and the market. The challenges we face, from biosecurity to animal welfare, from innovation to economic sustainability, cannot be addressed individually: we need a vision shared, capable of recognizing the necessary investments and distributing the value along the entire chain, Eurovo, thanks to its industrial experience and its family history, wants to contribute to this path by acting as an interpreter of the needs and prospects of the entire sector".