European poultry markets are showing resilience heading into mid-May, with broiler prices climbing to €294.80/100kg, up 1.6% on the week and 3.2% higher than this time last year, despite signs of softer production growth and increasing import pressure.
The latest European Commission poultry dashboard suggests a mixed outlook for UK poultry farmers. While firm EU prices may help support domestic market confidence, rising imports from major suppliers including Brazil, Thailand and Ukraine could intensify competition across retail and foodservice channels. EU poultry imports rose 1.3% year-on-year to 243,840 tonnes in January, with Brazilian volumes alone up more than 15%.
Production across the EU remains broadly stable, although growth is uneven between member states. Total EU poultry output reached 14.3 million tonnes in 2025, up 2.1%, with Poland, Spain, France and Germany continuing to dominate supply.
The UK imported 748,790 tonnes of EU poultry in 2024, while January 2026 volumes were down 4.1% compared with the same period last year. At the same time, EU imports of UK poultry fell sharply, down 24.6% year-on-year, highlighting continued pressure on cross-border competitiveness.