By Charlie Reeve
The EU broiler price has rallied in recent weeks, lifting by almost 2% in the last month to 283.99 eurocents a kg by the end of March.
This put prices up by 7.3% on the same week last year, extending its lead over other major producing regions such as the US and Brazil.
Broiler prices in the US had been trading at a premium to the EU market earlier in the year but have since dropped back and stood at the equivalent to 270.6 eurocents a kg for the week ending 26 March.
Meanwhile, broiler prices in Brazil remain at a significant discount and despite some gains in recent weeks are still well below the EU market at the equivalent to 138 eurocents a kg.
Production in the EU has also increased and lifted above 900,000 tonnes during February, according to figures from the European Commission.
This puts it up by more than 100,000 tonnes on the same month last year and higher than the previous month, despite fewer killing days at abattoirs.
EU poultry meat production is forecast to lift above 14m tonnes in 2025, consumption is also expected to rise and is set to reach 12.9m tonnes.
This increase in production is likely to lead to greater reliance on export markets to find demand for products.
Trade data suggests that China, Japan, and Mexica were the three largest global importers of poultry products during 2024, however, the UK is typically the largest destination of EU poultry exports.
The UK imported just shy of 750,000 tonnes of poultry meat in 2024, up by 3.5% on the previous year.
EU egg production
EU egg prices have also lifted in recent weeks and stood at 280.5 eurocents a kg for the week ending 26 March.
This was an increase of 11% on the previous month and 21% on the same week last year.
Egg prices in the US have been incredibly volatile throughout the last year and have plummeted in the last month. However, the US egg market continues to trade at a significant premium and averaged the equivalent to 524 eurocents a kg in late March.
EU placings of laying hens dropped back towards the end of last year to roughly 130,000 head in December.
The UK was the EU’s largest export destination in 2024 with almost 150,000 tonnes of eggs being imported into the UK from the EU.
This accounted for almost 40% of total EU egg exports and was 7% higher than in 2023.
The EU imported roughly 122,000t tonnes of eggs last year, up by 35% on 2023 levels.