European poultry market shows signs of stabilisation

The European chicken meat market has stabilised. Both meat and poultry prices are no longer showing significant declines or increases. The growth in supply no longer appears to be putting pressure on prices. An important factor in this development is the stabilisation of Polish broiler prices.The average European broiler price remains relatively stable at around €290 per 100 kilograms. Over the past week, prices declined slightly by 0.3%. Compared to a month ago, the weighted average price has increased by 1.3%.On the supply side, the European Union expects a further recovery. The weekly European dashboard shows that broiler chick placements have been consistently higher since September compared to both 2022 and 2023. According to the EU forecast for 2026, broiler production is expected to increase again. In particular, February production is projected to be considerably higher than in the previous two years. If this forecast materialises, production will reach its highest level in at least three years, approaching 1 million tonnes.A similar trend is visible in the Northern European poultry markets. Chicken prices in the Netherlands remain quite stable. The VCN slaughter price remains unchanged at €1.10 per kilo, and the Barneveld free market price once again holds at €1.19 per kilo. A slight decrease in Belgian pricing has not led to pressure on the Dutch market. The Deinze benchmark has been lowered from €1.24 to €1.23 per kilo.Meanwhile, in Poland, after a significant decline, a new low point has been reached and prices have started to rise slightly again. Until the end of January, structurally higher supply put significant pressure on Polish broiler prices. This was one of the main factors weighing on European prices. Since the beginning of February, however, prices have been increasing again. In week 5, the average Polish broiler price stood at 4,871.52 zloty (€1,151.65) per tonne. By week 8, the price had risen to 4,984.04 zloty (€1,178.25) per tonne. Although the increase remains relatively limited, its impact on the market is significant. It signals that, for the time being, no additional pressure from the Polish market is to be expected.German production is going upMeanwhile, German poultry production continues to grow. According to statistics from Destatis, broiler production in 2025 increased by 3.6%, reaching a total of 1.1 million tonnes. The higher production levels are necessary to meet demand, as German demand for chicken is rising even faster than in other European countries. In total, 640.3 million broilers were slaughtered in the country.