An increased demand and decreased production of chicken in France has posed challenges for French poultry farmers in both domestic and international markets.
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A recent three-year agreement between McDonald’s France, Cargill Foods France and the French poultry sector aims to strengthen supplies of nationally sourced chicken for the production of McDonald’s France’s Chicken McNuggets.
McDonald’s France and its suppliers of products made from chicken – Cargill Foods France, Boscher Poultry, LDC Group, and Gaévol breeders in partnership with Sanders – signed a new partnership agreement on February 23, 2016, in the presence of the French Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, Stéphane Le Foll.
By providing for a fixed purchase price for the chicken each year, the agreement will preserve prices from market fluctuations and provide producers, packers and processors with visibility, allowing them to plan for their production and investments.
Le Foll welcomed the agreement. “It is a further illustration of the interest of contracting approaches that bring visibility to farmers,” he said, adding that consumers benefit from quality guarantees.
Over the last four years, McDonald’s France has more than doubled its chicken meat supplies from French farms – and the share of French supplies is expected to reach almost two-thirds of the company’s total needs in 2016.
The new agreement further strengthens McDonald’s France’s relationship with the French agricultural sector and is unprecedented in its scale, three-year duration, and 9,100 tons per year minimum – demonstrating the sector’s ability to recover and forge strategic industry partnerships.
As a result of the concerted approach among these supply chain participants, the agreement allows fair distribution of value while adhering to the stringent specifications of McDonald’s, including 170 criteria for breeding, detailed requirements on animal welfare, and good environmental practices, The commitment also includes ending the use of antibiotics by the close of 2017. ■