The message on the screen is clear – three cartoon cows hold three signs that read “Eat Mor Chickin”. Managing director of Carton Brothers Vincent Carton has just given a detailed presentation on the state of play in the Irish poultry sector that, is refreshingly frank.

Poultry production has been through a tumultuous period over the past decade or so. In 2001, there were as many as 14 chicken processors in the country; as of February 2014 there are just three major processors.

Those three are Western Brand in Mayo, Shannon Vale in Cork and Carton Brothers in Cavan and Monaghan.

“A chicken company that processes between 100,000 and 400,000 birds is just too small,” Carton states in a matter-of-fact manner. “Shannon Vale is the exception because they have stayed in a niche market and fair play to them, they’re a super company. It’s down to three of us now.

“There has been no growth in the number of chickens in the country in the past 10 years. It’s the same kill number; we’re just now having to contend with more and more imported chicken. That’s the problem,” he adds.

More on that later.

Carton Brothers is by far the largest of the chicken processors in the country, with a throughput of about 850,000 chickens every week. It has an annual turnover of around €213m, employs 815 staff, pays over €23m in wages each year and supports over 160 chicken growers, most of whom are based in the Cavan/Monaghan region. Carton is proud of the support his company gives to the local economy.

Vincent, along with his brother Justin, controls the company, which is now in its eighth generation. Now based in Clonee, Co Dublin, back when it started in 1775, it was based in the Liberties area of the capital. It took in hens from across the country that were delivered by train to Connolly or Heuston station after the hen was no longer useful for egg production.

The business, which was nestled in among the fresh fruit and veg markets, was limited as it could only process chicken when it was sent to it until Vincent’s father established the first commercial processing unit in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, in 1968. Cartons could now control the flow of chicken coming to them from growers.

The business has grown ever since, but has seen rapid growth in terms of number of chickens processed (not margin) in the past 10 years, with the collapse of other chicken processors.

Vincent explains: “It’s a consolidation business. Every time someone has gone bust, we’re picked up business.”

One of the most important but controversial periods in the business was the partnership with College Proteins managing director John Gilroy. In 2004, Gilroy invested in Carton Brothers which facilitated an expansion in the business but ended acrimoniously in the courts in 2012.

Gilroy had taken section 205 proceedings against Cartons as he felt his rights as a shareholder were being oppressed but the issue was settled. While Carton admits the two aren’t friends, there is still a business agreement between them. Gilroy’s College Proteins is the rendering plant which Cartons uses. “We’re happy with the business arrangement that we have and John’s investment allowed for a big period of growth in the business,” Vincent adds.

A flow of imported chicken from across the European Union, through Holland, and into Ireland is something that is of serious concern to all processors in the country. However, with Carton the problem is more deep-rooted than that.

Every week, Irish plants process 1.5m chickens or 3m chicken breasts. However, 2.6m chicken breasts are imported into Ireland each week, most of which come through Holland. With only a relatively small amount of birds being brought in from Northern Ireland, there is a near 50-50 Irish to imported split on the chicken breasts being consumed. This equation angers Carton.

“We’re not playing a level playing field, it’s as simple as that,” he says. “Chicken that comes through Holland is about 40-45% cheaper than how we can do it here in Ireland. There’s no way we can compete with what they are doing and it is the single biggest threat to the industry,” he says.

Carton meticulously explains how chicken from across Europe is sent to cutting houses in Holland before making its way into Irish shops and sold the same as chicken which has come only a few miles away.

A procedure called “gas flushing” is used to preserve chicken and adds two or three days to the shelf life of the product. While not illegal and common practice in the industry, the rules are being bent to suit those in the rest of the European Union. Irish chicken processors work on a seven-day shelf life plus three days.

This means that from the time the chicken is killed, there are about 10 days until it must be off the shelf. Carton says that between transport across Europe, packing in Holland, and shipping to Ireland, there are question marks over the freshness of the imported chicken product.

“A day after being processed, the chicken is coming from across Europe into Holland. There’s further processing there and overnight, I doubt it really is overnight, it’s coming into Ireland. It could be at best day seven or eight by the time that chicken hits our shelves and then gets to stay there for the same length of time that our chicken is there for. It could be several days older than Irish chicken by the time it’s being removed. This stuff is not fresh,” he says.

Lisbon Treaty

The Lisbon Treaty of 2009 set in train legislation aimed at limiting the amount of unlabelled chicken trading throughout Europe. It also will establish strict country of origin labelling. The legislation had been expected to be in place by the end of this year but has been postponed to 15 April 2015. Those in the industry are expecting it to be a “game changer”.

“The legislation will hopefully work on two levels,” Carton explains.

“The first is that any product outside the jurisdiction cannot be labelled as Irish. The second is that there must be country of origin labelling on all poultry products. If you go into your shop or butcher, where the chicken came from has to be on it. I’m hopeful it will shake things up a bit. Consumers have the right to know what they are eating,” Carton says.

Eat Mor Chickin. “Just make it Irish chicken,” Carton finishes wryly.