Poland puts significant pressure on broiler chicken prices

The poultry meat prices remain fairly stable this week as well. However, the market is quite dynamic. In Northern Europe, broiler chickens are becoming cheaper rapidly due to a significant increase in supply. Data from the European Union shows that the poultry meat price is still fairly stable. Until two weeks ago, the price was still around €300 per 100 kilograms. This keeps the price level approximately the same since week 32. A similar picture is visible in Northern Europe. Belgium, which is the most representative for the region due to the lack of Dutch data, shows little change in prices since that period. The same applies to the highly competitive market in Poland. Until week 32, the Polish market was still searching considerably, but since then it has found a new balance at a level between €223 and €236 per 100 kilograms. Northern European poultry meat market declinesUntil recently, prices in the poultry meat market were very stable. However, that does not mean that nothing is changing. In Northern Europe, slaughter prices for broiler chickens are steadily decreasing. The VNC factory quotation dropped by 4.1% to €1.16 per kilogram, while the free quotation decreased by 6.2% to €1.22 per kilogram. This is a sign that the market is becoming more relaxed, as the position of poultry farmers in the free market is weakening in relative terms. The fact that free prices remain higher is due to the persistently higher prices in Belgium. These continue to attract broiler chickens from the Netherlands, keeping the free market relatively strong. However, the effects of the increased supply in Belgium are clearly noticeable. Prices in the country are dropping faster than in the Netherlands and currently stand 9.3% lower than the peak level at the beginning of September. The quotation is thus at €1.27 per kilogram. Polish supply is increasing againThe main reason for the ongoing pressure on broiler chicken prices is that the supply is slowly but surely improving again. For most of 2025, the supply of broiler chickens was severely disrupted due to avian influenza, while the demand for chicken was increasing at that time. The result was a very tight market and, as a direct result, record prices for the poultry sector. Especially in Poland and Hungary, many broiler chickens were lost due to the virus. However, the biggest impact was on the breeding hen stock, disrupting the entire chain. Poland was temporarily reliant on imports of expensive Northern European hatching eggs, driving up costs and causing Polish broiler chicken prices to rise sharply. This situation has now reversed. Polish hatching eggs are again available in sufficient quantities to serve most broiler chicken farmers. Until June, the effect of this was still visible in Polish slaughter figures: in that month, just under 100 million chickens were slaughtered, while production in the preceding months lagged even further behind. However, in July, production increased significantly, and Poland reached a new record level with 130 million chickens slaughtered. Remarkably, Polish broiler chicken prices are still above the Northern European level, as shown by data from the Polish government. Since the peak, the price of Polish broiler chickens, converted to euros, has only decreased by €0.04. In week 41, Polish poultry meat was traded at €1.31 per kilogram. This is 11.5% above the level that Dutch slaughterhouses report on average. Compared to Belgian prices, the Polish broiler chicken price is 1.6% higher. It is likely that Polish slaughterhouses are still asking for many extra broiler chickens to maintain high production. Due to shortages in the first nine months of the year, little frozen stock has been built up, meaning there is still significant room to export considerable volumes.