More and more countries are opening up to Polish poultry. They accept the important demand of the industry
In 2023, Poland became the first country in the EU to obtain regionalization for the Philippines. Similar status was granted to Poland by Japan, South Korea, the USA and, in 2024, China.
Regionalization approved by sever Asian countries
The industry admits straightforwardly - shipping to countries that do not recognize regionalization is too big risk.
Regionalization in the event of an outbreak of avian influenza means that exports are stopped only for the district, region or province where the disease has appeared. Although many countries are interested in Polish poultry, not all agree to such provisions. Recently, the Polish industry has managed to obtain regionalization from several large customers, mainly in Asia. Key among these is China, where Polish exporters are likely to return after a five-year hiatus.
State of play of the Polish poultry sector
In 2023, poultry production in Poland will reach more than 3.27 million t (according to data from the National Poultry Council-Economic Chamber), an increase of around 5 % year-on-year.
Today, the Polish poultry industry exports nearly 60 % of production, 67 % of which is placed on the EU market. The main customers are Germany, the Netherlands and France.
Among third countries, the UK dominates with 230 000 tonnes, followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo with nearly 60 000 t and Vietnam with around 40 000 t.
Poland's poultry market is becoming increasingly consolidated and the growing scale of the market is helping to strengthen the position of Polish companies. The industry has also coped with a drastic increase in production costs, largely due to rising feed and energy prices from 2020.
According to Strategy& (PwC), Polish poultry production will grow at a CAGR of 1.3% (average annual growth rate) until 2027. This forecast is based on the expectation of continued high demand for Polish poultry from the EU, continued competitive production costs and falling grain prices, which translates into cheaper feed.
A threat, however, is the increase in imports of cheaper poultry from Ukraine, which is not obliged to meet strict EU standards. In addition, the European Commission's plans to raise production requirements in the EU, without guaranteeing that the same requirements will apply to imported products, are of great concern. Another challenge is the level of domestic consumption - currently the average Pole consumes significantly more meat than the EU average.
It is also worth noting the growing popularity of meat substitutes. In the long term, per capita meat consumption, including poultry, may decline and further growth is unlikely.
Poland- major poultry producent in the world
In conclusion, it should be noted that the agreement on the regionalization of bird flu outbreaks may be evidence of the political will for the presence of Polish poultry on the Chinese market. Even on a global scale, Poland is a significant producer and exporter of this commodity. Polish poultry companies need to look for new markets if they want to maintain their growth rate. Asia is a popular destination for diversifying their revenues. So if one talks about the presence of Polish poultry in Asia, it is impossible to overlook such a huge market as China. It now seems that one of the most important milestones on the way to sales success in the Chinese market has been reached.
As far as the technical aspects of export are concerned, prior to the regionalization agreement, only nine Polish poultry plants were admitted to the Chinese market. There are still 20 other Polish companies awaiting approval to export to China.
Source: Portal Spożywczy, money.pl, PulsBiznesu.