Competitiveness of the EU poultry meat sector, base year 2015 : international comparison of production costs

EU poultry meat producers have to comply with legislation on environmental protection, animal welfare and food safety. This legislation has increased the production costs of poultry meat. At the same time the European Union (EU) is negotiating with other countries or groups of countries to liberalise trade in agricultural products. This report examines how lowering import levies impacts the competitiveness of the EU poultry industry. The results show that the offer price of broiler breast fillet in 2015 of some third countries was already equal to or lower than the average EU price. Despite the current import levy on breast fillet, Brazil and Ukraine can be competitive at the EU market. In a scenario with 50% lower import levies and no additional levy, Brazil, Ukraine and also Thailand, Argentina, the USA, and Russia have a lower offer price for breast fillet compared to the EU poultry meat industry.