The EU broiler price has continued to increase, lifting by 0.7% in the last month to 288.45 eurocents a kg by the last week of April.
This put prices up by 7.5% on the same week last year, making prices in the EU significantly higher than other major producing regions such as the US and Brazil.
Broiler prices in the US have fallen even further than last month and now stand at the equivalent to 262.52 eurocents a kg for the week ending 30 April.
Meanwhile, broiler prices in Brazil are significantly down and are now trading well below the EU market at the equivalent to 132 eurocents a kg.
Production in the EU has also increased and lifted above 900,000 tonnes in the past month, 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 fell back slightly in recent weeks and stood at 276.98 eurocents a kg for the week ending 30 April.
This was an decrease of 2.3% compared to the previous month but was 27.5% up 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 469.89 eurocents a kg in late April.
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.