White meat and eggs: turnover at 7.5 billion and consumption on the upswing

White meat and eggs in 2023 generated a turnover of 7.5 billion: 5.18 billion from poultry meat and 2.3 billion from eggs. Meat production exceeded 1.3 million tonnes, of which more than one million tonnes was chicken alone, up +4.3% year-on-year, and 272 thousand tonnes turkey (+24.5%). And, after a difficult 2022, export also returned to growth of 25%.

Per capita consumption was 21.38 kg (+2.9% over 2022), 'confirming the Italians' passion for white meat, which continues to be the most popular with 35% of domestic purchases', underlines a note from the producers of Unaitalia (65 thousand employees) whose annual assembly was held during which Antonio Forlini was re-confirmed president.

"After two difficult years characterised by the bird flu, today the sector is in good health and we have regained self-sufficiency, with the first four months seeing an average volume growth of 6.7%. But,' said Forlini, 'the scenario does not look entirely rosy. The effects of climate change, the protracted conflict in Ukraine and the escalation of conflict in the Middle East have made global trade trends increasingly unstable. The sector faces very complex challenges ranging from European animal welfare dossiers to a sustainable development of the industry based on a balance between environmental, economic and social sustainability. The availability to consumers of the most democratic and easily accessible proteins, namely white meat and eggs, must be preserved. Over the next three years we will work to lay the foundations in the EU for a dialogue with the sector that is free of ideologies and based on scientific evidence, hoping that politics can put food safety and self-sufficiency first, guaranteeing reciprocal regulation also with respect to international competitors'.

Egg production will grow in 2023, guaranteed by about 42 million laying hens and about 2,900 farms: in total, 12.3 billion eggs will be produced (+6.8% compared to 2022), equal to about 776 thousand tonnes. In 2023, we consumed 12 billion 652 million eggs (-2.6% compared to 2022), equivalent to 214.5 eggs per person (13.5 kilos per capita).

The number of eggs from free-range hens increased and those from enriched cage farms decreased. According to data from the National Register, the share ofeggs from hens in enriched cages fell by 25.5% between 2019 and 2024, being significantly lower than the European average (39.2%), while the share of those from free-range hens increased (+3.7% on 2022). At the end of 2023, 55.6 % of the laying animals were reared 'on the ground', 34.5 % in 'enriched cages', 5.1 % in free-range and 4.8 % in organic farming.