THE UK government has announced a review into the fairness of the egg supply chain following a food security summit hosted by prime minister Rishi Sunak at 10 Downing Street. Leaders in the egg sector have been asking for a review for over a year amid soaring input...
UK ‘rebalances’ poultrymeat trade with Brazil
THE British government and Brazil have agreed to adjusted Tariff Rate Quotas (TRQs) for poultrymeat imports into Britain. The deal reflects the volume of Brazilian poultry that entered the UK before Brexit disrupted established supply chains. See also: Defra figures...
Poultry ration prices drop further this month
SOME of the pressure on egg and poultry producers has eased over recent months after feed costs returned to levels prevailing before the Ukraine conflict. It means that the poultry sector has at least escaped the recent rises in its most significant input cost but...
Farmgate prices improve, but egg market yet to recover
The shrinking of the UK laying flock has continued into the first quarter of this year, but in more encouraging news, prices paid by packers finally began to make some headway in producers’ favour. Output from UK packing stations reached a new low between...
Broiler numbers drop again in March
According to Defra's latest placings figures, broilers numbers were down again in March. That completes a full quarter of declining chick numbers compared with the same period of last year. See also: CIEL report makes avian influenza recommendations The decline in...
France orders 80 million avian influenza vaccines
FRANCE has become the first European Union member state to place an order for avian influenza vaccine, intending to dose birds from Autumn 2023. The tender for vaccines is subject to final tests having positive outcomes, and further consultation with the French...
CIEL report makes avian influenza recommendations
IMPROVED communication, earlier detection and continued government support will be needed in the short-term to help farmers tackle bird flu. A new report from the Centre for Innovation in Livestock (CIEL) gives an overview of how avian influenza (AI) is managed in the...
Poultry feed price drops in April
Rations costs took a tumble in the past month, with a substantial drop in UK prices for both soya and feed wheat. By the first week of April, UK feed wheat stood significantly lower than just before the start of the conflict in Ukraine, at £201/t compared with £218/t...
Laying hen flock expansion stalled in February
THE hoped-for recovery in the UK laying flock took an early pause in February when day-old pullet placings fell back once again. Total chick numbers in the month dropped by 124,000, or nearly 5%, compared with a year before. See also: Defra poultry welfare grants now...
Turkey and broiler chick placings dipped in Jan and Feb
Poultrymeat production has dropped in the first two months of this year, when compared with 2022. Broiler chick placings during January and February combined were down by 3m, or nearly 1.5%, compared with the same period in 2022, according to Defra figures. See also:...
Seasonal turkey farms face challenging start to 2023
As traditional turkey hatcheries set their prices and start to plan for the year ahead, their producer customers still face a "perfect storm" of potential problems in Christmas 2023, say suppliers of traditional poults. According to Paul Kelly of Farmgate Hatcheries,...
Egg prices up 30% in Europe over past 12 months
EGG prices are up by an average of 30% across the EU according to new data released by the European Commission. Eurostat said the rise, over the 12 months to January, made eggs one of the food products with the highest price increases. See also: Day-old pullet...











