For several years Iradia has been promoting and distributing Cobb products in countries of former Yugoslavia, establishing a significant market share in Bosnia and now an increased presence in Serbia and Croatia.

Building a local technical support team has been a major benefit to customers, and the increased market share shows how much this is appreciated.

The main presentation was given by James Truscott, director of Cobb Germany, who spoke about global trends, new challenges such as the surge in bioenergy and avian influenza threat, and particular issues facing developing countries like Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia.

Mr Truscott also stated: "Poultry consumption is moving steadily upwards. Although competition continues for the protein on the consumer's plate, the global increase in per capita consumption will continue to support the growth in poultry production expected in the coming years."

Dr Marek Pospiech, a well known and appreciated figure in this part of Europe, spoke about technical hatchery issues. He stressed the importance of uniform incubation with special attention to the temperature during the incubation time and its effects on quality of broiler chicks and their performance. He also pointed out challenges customers are facing in incubation of later maternal age hatching eggs.

The seminar was closed by Jasmina Atlic, owner of Iradia who expressed her satisfaction, assuring Iradia's customers of Cobb's determination to build its presence and bring quality products to these markets.