Gulf and African markets take a bigger share of China's frozen chicken exports: UAE volumes up 225% in 2025

Gulf and African buyers are taking a larger share of China's frozen chicken exports

China's chicken meat exports reached 1.08 million tonnes in 2025, up 41% year on year, and the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service forecasts 1.40 million tonnes in 2026 — a further increase of about 29%. With that volume growth, the destination map has shifted towards price-sensitive developing markets, including the Gulf, Africa and Central Asia.

Growth in 2025 was concentrated in a group of newer markets. Shipments to Africa as a region rose 274% to 65,289 tonnes, and several individual Gulf, African and Central Asian markets expanded sharply:

• UAE — 33,569 tonnes in 2025, up 225% from 10,314 tonnes in 2024
• Qatar — 10,374 tonnes, up from 286 tonnes in 2024
• Bahrain — 26,940 tonnes, up 36%
• Iraq — 25,859 tonnes, up 791%
• Libya — 16,014 tonnes, up 523%; Angola — 14,461 tonnes, up 296%
• Kyrgyzstan — 40,300 tonnes, up 64%

What it means for importers and distributors

• Frozen cuts are the working format. In 2025 frozen cuts accounted for 55% of China's chicken exports and prepared/preserved products for 38% — the specifications used by wholesalers and food-service distributors.
• Dubai works as a consolidation point. Frequent reefer services, Jebel Ali port capacity and free-zone storage make the UAE a practical hub for onward supply into Gulf, African and Central Asian markets.
• Eligibility is the gate. Access depends on approved/registered plants for the destination market, and halal, veterinary/health and origin documents must be complete before shipment.

Nau International Food Group is based in Dubai and supplies frozen poultry raw materials — chicken breast, leg quarters and whole birds — to importers, wholesalers and food-service distributors. Shipments are covered by halal, HACCP, origin and veterinary/health documentation, and we can arrange customs clearance into Dubai for onward distribution. For specifications and current offers, write to info@naufoodgroup.com.

Source: USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, “Livestock and Poultry: World Markets and Trade” (9 April 2026), citing China Customs Statistics via Trade Data Monitor.