Domestic consumption is unchanged as consumers switch from other meats to broiler meat (cheaper and more convenient) in a recession-stricken EU-27 region.

The broiler meat import forecast for 2013 remains flat, since higher imports from Thailand were offset by lower imports from Brazil. Imports of prepared preserved and processed broiler parts (HS Code 160232) are expected to be lower due to the economic downturn in the EU-27 region.

EU-27 broiler meat exports in 2013 are revised downward as a consequence of the recent EU-27 Commission’s decision to reduce export restitutions by 50 percent. Decreased whole broiler exports, mainly from France to Middle-Eastern countries, support this revision. Broiler bone-in part exports to Africa, mainly from the Benelux region, do not offset decreased exports of whole broilers.