Polish poultry exports to non-EU markets up in 2015

Poland is the third largest poultry exporter in the EU after France and the Netherlands, according to data from the European Commission.

The EU in the period from January to May this year exported to non-EU countries 553,600 tons of meat, livestock, poultry offal and milk, 0.3 percent more than in the same period of 2014.

The largest number of poultry exported outside the EU was from France (132,000 tons), the Netherlands (110,300 tons), Poland (72,500) and Belgium (54,700). Poland’s share in the EU's exports was 13 percent.

Exports from Germany, the UK and the Netherlands fell due to trade restrictions introduced because of the appearance in these countries of bird flu.

In the commodity structure, chicken sales dominated (86 percent of total exports of poultry), with sales outside the EU increasing by 0.3 percent to approx. 475,000 tons.

The biggest recipients of poultry from outside the EU in this period were, as before, African countries - South Africa and Benin, in addition to Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and the Philippines. Shipments of poultry to Russia dropped to almost zero, due to the ban on imports of meat from the EU introduced in August 2014.

Poland is one of the largest poultry producers in the EU. According to the Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics, in 2014 poultry production amounted to 2,210,000 tons and this year is estimated at 2,430,000 tons. (jh/rk)