By Charlie Reeve
UK poultry meat production dropped by 8,000 tonnes on the previous month to 150,000 tonnes in June, according to the latest figures from Defra. This was also 2,700 tonnes (1.7%) less than in June 2023.
During the first half of the year, UK poultry meat production was still 3% (27,000 tonnes) higher on the year, totalling 1 million tonnes. Broiler meat production accounted for 92% of this.
Boiling fowl production declined for the second consecutive month to 3,800 tonnes in June, down by 300 tonnes on the previous month.
Throughputs also dropped back during July. The number of UK broilers slaughtered in June dropped by 3% on the year to total 87.8 million birds, it was also 3.1 million birds lower than the previous month.
The number of boiling fowl, including spent hens and spent breeders, held again at 2.8 million birds consistently each month for the last seven months.
UK turkey slaughterings remained at 500,000 birds in June.
Chick placings
Broiler chick placings in the UK increased by 1.7% on the year in June at 93.6 million chicks.
Meanwhile, commercial layer chick placings dropped significantly by 17% in April compared to the same month last year, totalling 3.1 million chicks.
Average liveweights per bird at point of slaughter in England & Wales lifted to 2.4kg for broilers, this was the first monthly increase since January 2023.
Turkey chick placings were up by 5.8% on the year at 1 million chicks.