In the EU market, there is a common set of rules governing the production & marketing of pigmeat within the EU. The aim is to ensure the availability of high quality product for the marketplace and a reliable income for farmers.

As the most widely eaten meat in the world accounting for over 36% of the world's meat trade, pork has a long tradition of high-quality production in Europe.

Today's Irish poultry industry is a testament to the pioneers, who in the mid 1960's, began to produce chicken, turkey and duck on a commercial scale to satisfy the then growing appetite for a more affordable protein meat source.

The European Union is one of the world's largest poultry meat producers and a net exporter of poultry products with annual production of around 13.4 million tons.