EU chicken output set to grow as disease pressure eases
Demand, lower costs support gains despite curbs in some states
19 March 2026
1 minute read
By: European Union (EU) chicken meat production in calendar year (CY) 2026 is forecast to grow by 1.3% after a three percent growth in CY 2025, according to a recent USDA Foreign Agricultural Service report.
Significantly fewer highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks in major EU producing countries, lower competition from Ukrainian chicken exports to the EU, and the strong dynamism of the domestic demand help support the growth in production.
Chicken meat production also benefited from lower energy and feed prices in 2025 supporting producers’ income, particularly in Poland and Spain, the two largest EU chicken meat producers. This trend is expected to continue in 2026, further expanding production in those countries.
In several countries, such as the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, environmental constraints such as the reduction on nitrogen emissions will constrain production expansion in CY 2026. French chicken meat production increased again in CY 2025, fuelled by strong internal consumer demand, and the growth is expected to continue in CY 2026.
In the wake of the HPAI outbreaks, EU Member States are continuing to reinforce surveillance and biosecurity measures on poultry farms and in some cases even instituting temporary bans on free-range farms.
In Poland, an increasing number of Newcastle Disease (ND) cases have been reported. In 2025, Poland reported 53 outbreaks of ND in commercial broiler farms out, of a total of 83 cases in poultry farms, leading to the culling of almost 7.1 million broilers. In addition, some trading partners banned imports of poultry meat from the impacted regions, with the exception of heat-treated products.
In response to the increasing ND threat, the Polish government introduced additional disease control measures. The new provisions on biosecurity and guidance for stocking henhouses in ND infected areas entered into force on April 29, 2025, while the provisions on the obligatory ND vaccination of chicks and turkeys entered into force on May 13, 2025.
Similarly, Spain lost its ND-free status in December 2025, for the first time since 2022.
