By Charlie Reeve
Total UK poultry meat production was up by 8.4% in December on the same month in 2023, totalling 151,000 tonnes.
However, throughputs were still back on October and November volumes due to fewer killing days over the Christmas period.
Broiler meat production accounted for 137,500 tonnes in December, down by 1,000 tonnes on November but still 11% up on the year.
Meanwhile, boiling fowl production contracted by 100 tonnes on the month to total 4,300 tonnes.
UK poultry meat production was above the two million tonne mark for the first time in 2024 at 2.03m tonnes, up by 58,000 tonnes on the previous year.
Total throughputs for broilers during December lifted by 1.4% on the year to 79.9 million birds.
The total number of UK broilers slaughtered in 2024 was 1.14 billion birds, up from 1.12 billion in 2023.
Average liveweights per bird at point of slaughter in England & Wales held at 2.4kg for broilers.
Boiling fowl slaughterings, including spent hens and spent breeders, held at 3 million birds.
UK turkey slaughterings increased during December were 6.4% down on the year at 1.1 million birds.
Chick placings
Broiler chick placings in the UK were up by 5.1% in December at 94.3 million chicks.
Meanwhile, commercial layer chick placings up by 35% in December compared to the same month last year, totalling 3.3 million chicks.
Turkey chick placings were up by 0.4% on the year at 0.6 million chicks.
Egg production
Farmgate egg prices averaged 146 pence per dozen in the UK during the final quarter of 2024.
This was a 0.9% increase on the previous quarter and up by 6% on the same quarter last year.
UK egg production was also up during the final quarter of 2024 with 254 million dozen eggs produced for human consumption, which represents a 4.2% increase year-on-year.