Margin recovery at slaughterhouses marks the poultry meat market

The European poultry meat prices have slightly decreased in recent weeks. Notably, the prices of broilers have dropped more significantly, indicating margin recovery at slaughterhouses. The poultry meat prices in Europe are on average declining. Data from Eurostat shows that the average price of poultry meat in week 43 has slightly fallen. In relative terms, the decline is limited: the price decreased by 0.7%. However, the threshold of €300 per 100 kilos has been broken, bringing the price to €298.99 per 100 kilos. The lower price is mainly attributed to a decrease in the Polish poultry meat price. In week 43, prices in the dominant production country fell by 3.2%, from €226.84 per 100 kilos to €219.56. This significant decrease has an impact on the entire European market and creates clear pressure on the Northern European poultry meat market. However, it is still too early to see this effect reflected in the European statistics, as the European data typically lags by two weeks. Additionally, the recovery of export flows from Brazil is putting extra pressure on poultry meat prices. An important reason for the high prices in Europe earlier this year was the outbreak of avian influenza in Brazil, which led to approximately 23,000 to 27,000 tons of poultry meat imports being lost (except for the short month of February). Cheaper broilers The price drop is already visible in the Northern European slaughter prices of chickens. Dutch slaughter prices have decreased by an average of 5.5 cents since the peak in weeks 37 and 38. In relative terms, this represents a decrease of 4.6%. In the free market, prices fell by 11 cents during the same period, or 8.5%. In Belgium, prices decreased most significantly in both relative and absolute terms: by as much as 10.7%. This partially explains the difference between the slaughter prices and the prices in the free market, as many Dutch broilers still find their way to Belgian slaughterhouses. It is noteworthy that Belgian slaughter prices have decreased significantly more than the European slaughter price benchmark. This benchmark is considered the most representative indicator for the Northern European market, as the Netherlands does not report prices to the European Union. The European benchmark price has fallen by 4.4% since the market peak in week 38 compared to week 34. This price reflects the wholesale value and is determined at the point of sale of the meat. During the same period, slaughter prices according to the Deinzen listing fell by 10.7%. This forms a strong indication that slaughterhouses are utilizing the price pressure to improve their margins.