The rally in wheat and soya prices in July has proved short-lived, and global prices have subsided again during August. Despite the initial concerns about the collapse of the Black Sea corridor in July, accompanied by the attack on the Danube port facilities, wheat...
Broiler chick placings on a ‘rollercoaster ride’
The broiler sector’s rollercoaster ride in 2023 has taken its latest plunge in the current placings figures from Defra. Chick numbers in July saw their biggest fall this year, down by 4.1 million compared with the same month last year. This is a year-on-year drop of...
Wholesale free-range egg prices dip – but not for long
FREE-range egg prices have now started to follow colony prices downwards in the wholesale market, but this trend may not continue for long. The intense shortage of home-produced eggs on the UK market overall has started to ease over the summer. See also: 12 reasons to...
Salmonella and the UK egg market feature at Elanco layers’ conference
ELANCO and Rosehill hosted 50 delegates who heard from experts on salmonella and the UK egg market at their recent layer conference. One of the central take-home messages from the day was highlighted by Shaun Cawthraw, from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA),...
Poultry consumption dips in first quarter
Despite the cost of living crisis, UK meat consumption in the first quarter of this year was higher than a year earlier. According to Defra figures, total consumption of all meats, measured as supplies reaching the market, rose by 14,400 tonnes during the...
Tesco lifts buying restrictions on shell egg
TESCO has said it will lift the restrictions it placed on the sale of packs of fresh eggs in its stores from 2 August. The retailer introduced a three-pack limit in November 2022 after profitability in the egg sector saw a significant decline in the national flock and...
Chick placings on the up in June
Confidence in the broiler sector bounced back in June, bringing the biggest rise in day-old chick placings this year. Compared with June a year ago, chick numbers last month were up by 2.5% to 95.3m. See also: Firm announces plans to buy 1.6m tonnes of poultry litter...
Black Sea deal collapse puts poultry ration costs back on the rise
THE recent downturn in feed prices has come to an abrupt end with the untimely collapse of the Black Sea agreement. This has pushed feed costs back up again although, as yet, it has been a small increase in the overall context of the last 12 months. See also: £1m...
UK laying hen flock continues to recover
Egg production in the UK is still heading upwards, but it still has a long way to go. Latest figures for pullet chick placings show a continued year-on-year rise for the ninth consecutive month. This increase in bird numbers is now starting to have a significant...
Poultry feed prices level off after drop
THE recent sharp decline in ration costs looks for now to have run its course. By the start of this month, both wheat and soya prices had turned upwards again in response to less encouraging news about supply prospects. See also: Warning over battery egg imports with...
Brazil a ‘wildcard’ when it comes to global poultry trade
BRAZIL and the risk of avian influenza hitting major poultry-producing states has been described as a major "wildcard" for the global chicken meat trade in Rabobank's latest quarterly outlook. More broadly, with lower feed prices expected and demand remaining...
Significant drop in broiler output recorded in May
BROILER output in the UK has just recorded its most significant monthly decline in recent years. Production of broiler meat during May was down by 11.4% compared with a year earlier (measured as carcase weight), according to the latest Defra figures. See also:...