Update on Hungarian poultry meat output

Poultry meat production in Hungary has been falling steadily since 2002. In addition to forced culls and cutbacks because of bird flu outbreaks, a major contributor to the drop was that Hungarian poultry meat became less competitive on the EU market, made worse by the EU-wide price crashes following the bird flu crisis.

Per capita demand for poultry meat in Hungary is currently standing at approximately 35kg, which is above the EU level of 22.5kg.

The Hungarian chicken population was approximately 24 million head in August 2006. This is down 13% year-on-year and analysts warn that production could fall further given that egg production figures are also looking to drop. Hatchings reached 73 million head in the first half of 2006 - down 8.7% year-on-year.

Turkey numbers stood at 4 million head in August 2006, up 4% year-on-year. Duck numbers have fallen by 27% to 3.0 million head and geese numbers have risen 4% to 3.5 million head.

Related articles:

Hungary boosting production for increased exports

Hungarian poultry sector on its way up again

Hungary hits top five for eggs

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Editor WorldPoultry