Government agricultural statistics agency, Agreste, reports a 10 per cent drop in slaughter yields for both chickens and ducks, with a 19 per cent decrease in turkeys for the month.

There was a cumulative 12 per cent drop in turkey slaughterings for the calendar year 2013 and a 10.6 per cent fall in turkey meat tonnage.

This is reflected in the poultry sector’s higher bird slaughterings - up 1.5 per cent - but with a one per cent decline in total output weight.

November 2013 chicken exports to third countries fell back by 7,800 carcass equivalent tonnes (CET), with declines of 2,400CET to Saudi Arabia, Russia (1,900CET) and United Arab Emirates (1,500CET).

Chicken meat imports for the month fell by 2,000CET - falling by just over five per cent year-on-year - against a backdrop of a two per cent year-on-year increase in total supply for the first 11 months of 2013.