Analysis Poultry
Poland sells extra chicken mainly close to home.
The growing production of Polish poultry meat has been leading to rising volumes of exported meat for years. Although the number of slaughterings declined slightly last year, the total volume of meat produced in 2025 was slightly above the 2024 level. In this article, you can read what this means.
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Choose the subscription that suits youDespite a large number of outbreaks of various infectious diseases, including avian influenza, the number of poultry slaughterings in Poland remains at a respectable level in 2025. Also in 2025, a significant portion of the exported volume had to be sold on foreign markets. The self-sufficiency rate has been around 300% for several years: for every kilo of poultry meat produced, 2 kilos are sold abroad.
Exports have grown further
According to Eurostat figures, total poultry meat production amounted to 2.468.000 tonnes, about 35.000 tonnes, or 1,4% above the level of a year earlier. Up to and including November, exports of poultry meat to all foreign destinations amounted to 1.691.000 tonnes, which was slightly above the level of 2024, when around 1.676.000 tonnes of poultry meat crossed the border up to and including November.
The increase is primarily due to larger volumes to customers within Europe. Volume to customers on the European continent rose to 1.377 thousand tonnes through November. This was no less than 4,1% more than in 2024. A substantial increase of 21% was recorded, particularly to Germany. The volume reached 272 thousand tonnes; this was 224 thousand tonnes a year earlier. Exports to the Netherlands were at a comparable level of around 165 thousand tonnes in 2025.
Poland's most important intra-European trading partners are Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. These four countries account for around 50% of the European export volume.
10 years time
Although demand for poultry meat has been strong in recent years, Polish producers serve partly the same markets as Dutch processors. Consequently, they occasionally notice the increased supply in Poland quite clearly. While there are currently sufficient sales opportunities and production is relatively tight, these are no guarantees for the future. In less favorable times, the growing Polish volume could exert additional pressure on the regions for which the Dutch poultry industry also produces.
In 2017, Polish poultry products were exported around 839 thousand tonnes to buyers within Europe. As a result, sales on the domestic continent have increased by about 70% in the period up to and including 2025.