UK poultry meat production remained well ahead of last year’s levels during June, with higher broiler throughputs and heavier birds continuing to drive output.
Total UK poultry meat production reached 174,200 tonnes in June, up 7.4% compared with June 2025, although slightly below May’s seasonal peak of 172,000 tonnes. Overall, UK poultry meat production has remained consistently ahead of 2025 throughout the first half of the year, building on the record annual production of more than 2 million tonnes achieved last year.
Broilers continue to dominate production, with 95.6 million birds processed during June, an increase of 4.2% on the same month last year.
Meanwhile, boiling fowl throughputs fell to 2.3 million birds, down 12% year on year, while turkey slaughterings increased sharply to 0.7 million birds, although this reflects relatively low volumes and seasonal variation.
A key factor underpinning the increase in poultry meat production remains heavier birds.
After averaging around 2.2kg at slaughter for many years, average broiler liveweights increased to around 2.3kg between 2021 and 2024 before reaching 2.4kg during 2025. During June 2026, average broiler liveweight remained at 2.5kg, around 2.7% higher than a year earlier, helping to lift meat production despite only modest growth in bird numbers.
Chick placings
Hatchery data continues to point towards strong production levels in the months ahead.
UK broiler chick placings increased 1.7% year on year to 97.1 million chicks during June.
Commercial layer chick placings moved in the opposite direction, falling 6.1% to 3.5 million chicks, while turkey poult placings more than doubled to 1.6 million poults, up 108% on June 2025, although this follows a relatively weak comparison a year earlier.
Defra says chick placings provide an indication of future poultry meat and egg production, with broiler and turkey placements responding closely to market demand.
Egg prices and production
The latest quarterly figures continue to show a firm egg market.
UK farmgate egg prices averaged 154 pence per dozen during the first quarter of 2026, around 4% higher than a year earlier and 3% above the final quarter of 2025.
Production also continued to rise, with 273 million dozen eggs produced for human consumption during the quarter, an increase of 6% year on year.
Output of egg products reached 21,900 tonnes, up 45% compared with the first quarter of 2025, reflecting continued strong demand from food manufacturers and processors.