Will the stabilisation in Northern European poultry prices continue?

The Dutch broiler price fell again over the past two weeks, but has stabilised this week. Will this stabilisation continue in the longer term? The broiler price stabilised in week 21 after the decline that started in week 13. Since week 20, the price has stood at €1.04 per kilo. That represents a price decline of 5.5% from week 13. Before that, the broiler price had remained stable for quite some time.The Barneveld quotation has remained unchanged for several weeks, at €1.07 per kilo. This shows that, although prices have clearly fallen, demand is still reasonable. If demand had really dropped sharply, free-market broiler prices would have fallen below the slaughterhouse price, as slaughterhouses’ demand for additional broilers would then be low. Additional demand is still coming from Belgium. The Deinze quotation is still 4 cents higher, at €1.11, prompting traders to sell their chickens in Belgium.Supply in the Netherlands remains ample, enabling slaughterhouses to push prices down further. In addition, competitive pressure from Poland remains strong, causing prices to continue moving lower.The stable quotation in Belgium does show that, if conditions remain unchanged, the market could remain stable. It shows that the decline seen in recent weeks has not spread across the wider region. This means Belgium is still absorbing the surpluses on the Dutch market. As a result, it is becoming more difficult for slaughterhouses to lower prices on the basis of supply pressure. This does not mean that a price cut is impossible, but every Dutch reduction that is not mirrored on the free market makes longer-term stabilisation more likely.Chicken meat prices remain relatively stable On the meat market, prices have fallen less significantly, according to Eurostat figures. Belgian chicken prices have declined slightly since week 13, but stabilised around week 17. This explains why the Belgian broiler market has also stabilised. Comparable Dutch data are not available.Meanwhile, Polish prices rose considerably in week 19. Prices increased by 12.3% to €194.39 per 100 kilos. This is the result of the country’s strong exports, which have recently underpinned the Polish market.