Industry Trends
Amiri Decree No. 45 of 2026 raises Qatar's customs tariff on whole fresh or chilled chicken and chilled cuts to 18% about 60 days after its 16 September 2026 publication. Frozen chicken is not among the listed products, and GCC plus 12 preferential-agreement origins are exempt.
Indonesia will not extend its 18 October 2026 mandatory halal deadline: imported food and beverage products, their ingredients and slaughtering services must be halal certified before distribution. USDA's Jakarta post reports new rules on slaughter practice, labelling, halal supervisors and pre-shipment verification.
USDA's Brasilia post forecasts Brazilian chicken meat production up 2% to a record 16.3 million tonnes in 2027 and exports up 4% to 5.5 million tonnes, with halal markets at the centre of the strategy and the EU market closed since 3 September 2026. Member-state votes on re-listing Brazil could come in October or November.
USDA's Pretoria post forecasts South African chicken meat production rising 3% to 1.73 million tonnes in 2027 while imports fall 4% to 280,000 tonnes, as anti-dumping duties on frozen bone-in chicken from Germany, the Netherlands and the UK go through a sunset review with proposed rates of up to 425.64%.
Maersk is still holding reefer bookings back from most Gulf ports and charging up to USD 3,800 per reefer container in emergency freight plus USD 1,000 for a Hormuz transit, while Hapag-Lloyd applies USD 2,200-4,400 per reefer on its Jeddah-Aden feeder and RCL adds USD 585 per reefer on Asia-Red Sea.
China shipped 144,500 tonnes of chicken meat in August 2026, up 49.6% year on year and the highest monthly volume on record, with January-August exports at 970,600 tonnes (+51.1%). Value-added cuts such as bone-in frozen chicken pieces are growing fastest.
