North Antrim MP Jim Allister has warned that proposed Government plans to ban the use of cages in egg production could devastate local poultry producers unless strict controls are placed on imported eggs produced to lower welfare standards.

In a letter to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Emma Reynolds, Mr Allister said many poultry farmers in his constituency have already invested heavily to meet the UK’s high welfare standards and risk being undercut by cheaper imports if the UK bans enriched colony cages while continuing to allow eggs produced in systems that would be illegal here.

Mr Allister’s letter reads:

“As Member of Parliament for North Antrim I have a sizeable number of poultry farmers in my constituency. And they are concerned by the direction of travel in your current consultation.

placeholder image — TUV leader Jim Allister

“I sympathise with the ambition to improve animal welfare, but the proposal to phase out enriched colony cages poses a serious risk to the viability of British egg production unless it is matched by equivalent import controls.

“UK producers have already invested around £400m to meet some of the highest welfare standards in the world, following the 2012 ban on conventional cages. These investments were made in line with Government policy and are still far from recouped. A five-year transition – far shorter than the EU’s proposed ten-year-plus timeline – would make these assets prematurely obsolete.

“The greater threat, however, is that the UK continues to allow tariff-free imports of eggs and egg products produced to standards that would be illegal here, including from conventional battery cages still widely used outside the EU. Imports from Ukraine produced in such systems are already entering the UK. If domestic caged production is banned while imports remain unrestricted, lower-welfare, lower-cost eggs will simply replace British production.

“This would undermine UK farmers, collapse domestic egg processing capacity and leave no outlet for Class B and surplus eggs – raising costs across all systems, including free-range and organic. It would also mislead consumers by allowing lower-welfare eggs into thousands of processed foods where origin is unclear.

“If the Government intends to legislate for a ban on enriched cages, it must simultaneously require that all imported eggs and egg products meet the same welfare standards. Without this, the policy will offshore production, damage British farming, and fail to deliver genuine welfare gains.

“I therefore urge Defra to ensure that any domestic ban is accompanied by enforceable import requirements that prevent lower-standard eggs entering the UK market.”