Are Dutch broiler slaughters approaching 500 million in 2025?

The number of slaughtered broiler chickens in the Netherlands seems set to break the long-term declining trend in 2025. Up to and including October, there were significantly more broiler chickens on the Dutch slaughter hooks. The slaughter weights remain notably stable. Moreover, the sector is not slowing down. In October, the number of monthly slaughters rose to the highest level in years. Where around 483 million chickens were slaughtered in the Netherlands in 2024, the number of slaughtered broiler chickens last year up to and including the month of October was about 14 million pieces higher than the year before. This means an average monthly increase during that period of approximately 1.4 million chickens. If the growth in the number of slaughters continues at this rate in November and December, the number of slaughters will approach 500 million pieces for the first time in years. Highest slaughter figure since 2021 The last time 500 million slaughters were recorded was in 2021. In the following years, that number decreased to around 482 million in 2024. This means the number of processed animals was about 21% lower than in the record year 2016, when 607 million chickens were processed. According to figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), the number of slaughters in September and October was 7.4% and 3.1% higher, respectively, than in the same months a year earlier. In October, 45.6 million chickens were processed. The last time the number of slaughters on a monthly basis exceeded 45 million animals was in October 2020, exactly five years ago. Meat production rises in equal trend The average slaughter weight of Dutch broiler chickens has been stable for years. This means that the growth in meat production keeps pace with the increase in the number of slaughters. Up to and including October, that increase is approximately 3.4%. The average slaughter weight is about 1.65 kilograms per piece.