Poultry meat production has been steadily increasing in the region for years, and this trend is expected to continue in the future, according to the latest report from the European Commission entitled, Short Term Outlook for Arable Crops, Meats and Dairy. However, the growth is anticipated to slow down as beef and pig meat production is expected to recover in the next years.

A decline in exports is projected in 2014 for the second year in a row. Shipments to Ukraine may drop further due to the Ukrainian government target to increase self-sufficiency and to uncertainty stemming from political tensions and the related Ukrainian currency devaluation. Exports to Russia have been declining in the last three years for a similar self-sufficiency policy. The moderate recovery observed in the first four months of the year to compensate for the reduced pig meat trade is not expected to reverse the declining trend.

Despite the reorientation of some of the EU exports towards other destinations, 2014 exports are likely to further contract as the higher volumes shipped to South Africa and Benin will not
compensate for the declines to Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia and Ukraine.

On the import side, the decrease in the shipments coming from Thailand due to the unstable political situation is compensated by the increase of those coming from Brazil, with overall imports are expected to stabilise at the 2013 level over the projection period.

After a period of slow growth towards the end of 2013, poultry price started to increase to reach €199 per 100kg in May 2014, 3.4 per cent above the 2012-13 average.

With an increase in production, lower exports and slightly higher imports, consumer demand is expected to continue picking up to reach 21.6 and 21.7kg per person in 2014 and 2015, respectively, (in retail weight).

Further Reading

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