POLAND’S poultrymeat production will grow by an estimated 1.5% this year when compared to 2019.
The country will remain the European Union’s largest poultrymeat producer, with both increased domestic consumption and export demand driving growth.
But highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks will temper export sales by about 7%, mainly because of lost markets outside the European Union, a new report from the USDA’s GAIN service suggests.
Following the avian influenza outbreaks towards the end of last year in Poland, several key markets for exporting poultrymeat imposed bans, notably South Africa China, South Korea, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, and the Philippines.
Despite this, more than 70% of exports from Poland were sold to other EU states in 2019 and will be relatively unaffected by AI outbreaks. The UK, Germany and France are the main markets which buy Polish poultry.
Healthier alternative
As in many other countries, Polish consumers are buying more chicken as it is perceived to be a healthier alternative to red meats – and this trend will be the primary driver of growth this year.
Chicken accounts for 85% of poultrymeat production and turkey is at 14%. Duck and goose meat make up the balance and are predominantly to Germany.
