By Charlie Reeve
EU broiler prices have teetered around 275 eurocents a kg for the past six months and stood at 275.59 eurocents a kg for the week ending 29 January.
Prices remain marginally down on the previous month but are still almost 7% up on the same month last year.
Broiler prices in the US are now trading at a premium to the EU market, after being at a discount for most of 2024.
In January, the US broiler price started high but has contracted slightly since to finish the month at the equivalent to 283.61 eurocents a kg.
Broiler prices in Brazil have continued to trade at a significant discount to those in both the EU and the US and were the equivalent to 133.97 eurocents a kg in late January.
EU broiler production finished 2024 on a high and climbed above the 900,000 tonne mark in December.
This was up notably on December volumes during 2022 and 2023.
Production continues to outweigh consumption of poultry meat in the EU and last year it achieved an estimated self-sufficiency rate of 108%.
Poland accounted for the largest share of total EU poultry meat production in 2023 at 21%, followed by Spain (13%), Denmark (12%), France (11%), and Italy (10%).
EU egg production
EU egg markets have fallen so far during 2025 after peaking last year in December.
The EU weekly average fell to 229.88 eurocents a kg in late January, down by 5% on the month, but still up by 2% on the same week last year.
The main EU egg producing countries in 2023 were France, Germany, and Spain, which all accounted for about 14% respectively of total egg production volumes.
This was followed by Italy and Poland at 12% and8% of egg production.
Total EU egg production was 6.78 million tonnes in 2023, which was 0.7% higher than in 2022.
Total EU egg exports reached 304,000 tonnes during the first 10 months of 2024, up by 11% on the year.
The UK continued to be the EU’s largest export destination with 124,500 tonnes of eggs being imported into the UK from the EU.
This accounted for almost 41% of total EU egg exports and was 5% higher than the same period last year.
The EU imported just under 100,000t of eggs during the first 10 months of the year, up by 27% on the same period in 2023.
Ukraine remained the largest exporter of eggs to the EU with volumes up by 31%, based off the first 10 months of the year.
More than 61,000 tonnes of eggs were imported by the EU from Ukraine, meanwhile the UK was the second largest exporter to the EU with 14,000 tonnes being sent during the same period.