Key Figures:

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There are no comprehensive data available on the economic importance of rural poultry production, which represents a large number of producers, mainly in the South and East of Europe.

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• Approximately 2,500,000 colored breeding birds in Europe

= more than 400,000,000 rural poultry produced annually in Europe

= thousands of producers, including family farms

• For the whole chain: a turnover of about 2 billion euros

• A large number of operators live directly and indirectly through this sector: hatchers, feed producers, farmers, slaughterhouses, plus indirect ones: transporters, tools, veterinarians, etc.

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As an example, the production of rural meat poultry represents approximately:

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• In Italy : 50 million coloured chicks of which 10 million are sold to other countries in Europe. Rural poultry represents approximately 15% of national consumption and covers the activity of 1,500 people directly and 5,000 indirectly.

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• In France : 160 million coloured chicks of which 120 million are Label Rouge traditional free range poultry produced by 7,000 farmers and sold under 31 PGI. Label Rouge chickens represent 1/3 of the purchases by French households.

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• In Spain : 24 million coloured chicks for a level of rural poultry production of 46 to 48,000 T.