After egg trader goes bankrupt: Thousands of organic chickens face slaughter

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After 28 years, the bitter end has come for Rüegg-Gallipor AG from Märstetten TG. The egg trader and chicken breeder was a big player in Switzerland. Everything went well for years. Now the company is bankrupt.

System: Rüegg-Gallipor sold chickens to farmers and breeders. They later delivered some of their eggs back to Rüegg-Gallipor. Thanks to its good connections, the company sold them primarily to large retailers. In good years, Rüegg-Gallipor had a 50 percent market share in the egg market.

Farmers sitting on their eggs

Bankruptcy has consequences for farmers and small producers. After the closure of Rüegg-Gallipor, they will probably have difficulty finding buyers for their eggs. Result: Small producers and farmers were left alone with their organic eggs. “The financial impacts and uncertainties associated with egg collection in particular are significant and require urgent solutions,” Bio Suisse says in “St.Wales Tagblatt.”

What about animals? Bio Suisse was promised a solution would be found for all living chickens. They need to find accommodation with other egg traders. This is especially true for larger egg producers with up to 2,000 hens. No more is allowed per organic barn.

Not worth buying

The situation is especially precarious for small producers and farmers with 500 or fewer chickens. They can hardly find any buyers for their eggs. Reason: Big traders want bigger producers. Otherwise, collecting, sorting and packaging eggs is not worth it. In addition, eggs to be sold fresh must be collected from the farm several times a week. This also costs money.

Experts assume that most of these farmers will slaughter a large portion of their chickens. At the latest after Christmas or Easter, when demand is still high. Additionally, demand for more expensive organic eggs is lower than usual due to rising prices. It’s a really sad situation for organic chickens. (pbe)

Source :Blick