Breeding company Aviagen is now shipping chicks internationally from Copenhagen airport, in a move that will increase the number of trade routes.
On 24 November, the first consignment – 36,000 day-old chicks – were delivered to Aviagen’s customer Provita Breeder in Bangladesh. The chicks were hatched at the Aviagen hatchery in Baekke, Denmark, and shipped from Copenhagen Airport with Qatar Airways Cargo via Doha.
Due to the growing problem of Avian Influenza (AI) and other current and unforeseen future threats to the supply chain, Aviagen said it wanted to strengthen the security of supply. A colder climate and concerns for bird health and welfare have in the past precluded shipment from Copenhagen. However, amid growing AI concerns, Aviagen has taken added measures to ensure the chicks are kept in temperature-controlled conditions from the hatchery to the aircraft. These measures will keep day-old chicks safe and warm, even in the winter months.
Copenhagen has now become a new trade route to transport chicks hatched at Baekke to locations around the world. “Thank you to the Baekke team for going above and beyond to make this shipment happen. You are the people behind the bird, and due to your tireless efforts, we have taken another important step in supply security,” said Jan Henriksen, Aviagen’s chief executive.
“I would like to personally thank Baekka hatchery manager Peter Jorgensen, hatchery office manager Eleonora Just for her tireless work to procure the needed health certificates, Qatar Airways Cargo, the freight forwarders, and the many hard-working people who made these shipments possible. I am extremely proud of this achievement,” said Aviagen’s global logistics manager Sheila Barcsansky.