Industry Trends
The EU stopped accepting Brazilian poultry on 3 September 2026 over antimicrobial-use compliance. USDA now assumes Brazil stays out through 2027, with volumes redirected to Africa and the EU share to be backfilled by Thailand, China, Ukraine and the UK.
Defra raised the highly pathogenic H5 risk in wild birds in Great Britain from low to medium on 1 October, Belgium confirmed H5N1 on 30 September and Cyprus ordered nationwide housing on 29 September, as WOAH-reported high-pathogen detections in wild birds overseas more than doubled in January-August 2026.
USDA's Dubai post forecast UAE chicken meat imports for domestic consumption rising to 410,000 tonnes in 2027 from 350,000 tonnes in 2026, with consumption recovering to 485,000 tonnes as Strait of Hormuz shipping disruption eases and volumes return through Khorfakkan and Fujairah. Domestic production covers only 15-18 percent of consumption.
The UAE took 45,900 tonnes of Brazilian chicken in September 2026, up 23.3% year on year and the highest of any destination, while Saudi Arabia ranked fourth at 38,300 tonnes (+7.4%). Total Brazilian chicken exports reached 500,300 tonnes in the month, worth US$984.2 million.
Hong Kong's Centre for Food Safety suspended poultry meat, products and egg imports from Big Stone and Kandiyohi counties in Minnesota, Ravalli County in Montana, Barron County in Wisconsin and the Isle of Lewis in Scotland, after WOAH notifications of H5N1 and H5N5 outbreaks.
Pakistani government documents reported on 7 October 2026 list 14 established meat export markets and confirm that poultry market access is being pursued in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, with meat and poultry exports to Saudi Arabia at US$191.5 million in FY2025-26.
HMRC data show UK poultry exports of 45,468 tonnes in Q2 2026, down 15.5% year on year, with Ghana up 48.1% and Belgium up 24.4% while shipments to the Netherlands, France and Benin declined.
The EAEU-UAE economic partnership agreement takes effect on 6 October 2026: the UAE grants preferential access to 86 percent of the product range, or 98 percent of the value of EAEU exports, including poultry, meat and eggs.
Saudi Arabia signed 27 poultry-sector agreements worth more than SAR 2.57 billion (US$687 million) at the Middle East Poultry Expo in Riyadh, with national production expected to exceed 1.5 million tonnes and self-sufficiency above 76 percent in 2026.
Senegal's Sedima is investing US$35 million (20.47 billion CFA francs) in an integrated poultry and grain complex at Nkouo in the Republic of Congo, targeting 2,200 tonnes of broiler chicken a year.
European Commission data for January-July 2026 show EU poultry and egg imports up EUR 250 million (+14%), even as total agri-food exports fell 1% on weaker pork sales.
The FAO Food Price Index averaged 136.0 points in September 2026, its highest since November 2022, but the FAO Meat Price Index fell 1.1 percent as poultry and pig meat prices eased on abundant exportable supplies.
