EU broiler welfare overhaul: NGOs push for imports to be covered as four origins supply 88 percent

The European Union is revising its welfare rules for chickens reared for meat, and a report published in Brussels on 14 October 2026 argues the reform will stop at the border unless imported chicken is held to the same standards.

Eurogroup for Animals and World Animal Protection released the joint report "No Double Standards" on 14 October 2026, as the EU prepares to revise its welfare rules for broiler chickens. Imported chicken currently has to meet EU welfare standards at the point of slaughter only, and not for how the birds are bred, reared and transported. The report puts EU exposure at 25 percent of chicken breast consumption being imported, with four origins — Brazil, Thailand, the United Kingdom and Ukraine — accounting for 88 percent of that volume, equivalent to an estimated 274 million chickens in 2025.

The report also notes that Brazil has not been on the EU list of third countries authorised to export certain animal products, poultry meat included, since 3 September 2026, after the European Commission judged the guarantees on restricted antimicrobial use insufficient. For European buyers that has meant moving volumes away from their largest supplier; for exporters outside the EU it has meant an opening, but one with a documentation burden attached.

• Import share: 25 percent of EU chicken breast is imported; Brazil, Thailand, the UK and Ukraine supply 88 percent of that volume.
• Volume signal: shipments from those four origins in 2025 equated to an estimated 274 million chickens.
• The regulatory gap: imported chicken must meet EU welfare standards at slaughter only, not for breeding, rearing or transport.
• Brazil: not authorised for EU poultry meat exports since 3 September 2026 over antimicrobial-use guarantees.

The direction of travel for buyers is towards requirements that describe the whole production chain rather than the last step: farm-level practice, feed and veterinary records, and traceability from plant to container. Suppliers who can present that file — alongside halal certification where the destination market requires it — are the ones that stay listed when a rule tightens.

Nau International Food Group supplies halal frozen poultry and frozen meat from HACCP-certified, GACC-registered plants, with halal certificates, veterinary health certificates and certificates of origin issued for each shipment. We arrange customs clearance and delivery into Dubai and onward distribution across the Gulf, Africa and Central Asia. For specifications, packing data and current offers, write to info@naufoodgroup.com.

Source: Eurogroup for Animals and World Animal Protection, "No Double Standards", press release, Brussels, 14 October 2026.