Proceedings: 3rd International Conference on Food and Agricultural Economics: ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF STANDARDS

In the European Union there are comprehensive legal requirements, especially in the field of animal processing. Standards therefore play a very important role. First and foremost, producers and suppliers try to position themselves on the market vis-à-vis competitors with stricter requirements than those of the statutory regulations. The EU criteria are the basis, whereby the scope for interpretation in the various countries proves to be very diverse. This results in a very difficult environment for consumers and market participants to evaluate the respective requirements objectively. The contribution to the economic benefit of standards is intended to filter out examples of this in the field of poultry meat production. In the course of the past years, numerous innovations have been made here. On the one hand, the EU Commission is trying to protect the common market against dumping prices from third countries, which have competitive advantages due to better location conditions, with customs duties and specifications. On the other hand, private standard setters with significantly higher standards, e.g. in the areas of animal welfare, ecological production and sustainability issues, have increasingly established themselves on the market. Ultimately, however, this is also about profit. The economic benefit plays an extraordinarily large role. However, there are restrictions for suppliers outside the EU due to numerous restrictions, customs regulations, requirements in the area of food hygiene, animal welfare and animal disease issues. The poultry sector continues to be a growth market as consumers' demands for high quality and low-calorie food are particularly met. The contribution is intended to highlight the economic benefits of standards and requirements that go beyond them. But also, restrictions on the basis of legal requirements and differentiations from other countries through customs duties and additional duties are to be explained.