February 15, 2007

 

Impact of bird flu lesser in Europe this year

 

 

Outbreaks of the virus in poultry across Europe last year caused poultry sales to plunge in many countries but seems to have had a lesser effect this year, as a review of the situation in various EU countries showed.

 

Europe's poultry sector has a turnover of around EUR 20 billion euros (US$26 billion) a year. The EU-25 produces 11 million tonnes of poultry meat a year, with exports of one million tonnes.

 

Chickens account for 70 percent of production, turkeys 20 percent. Main markets for the region were Russia, Saudi Arabia and Ukraine. The average per capita consumption for the bloc is 22.88 kg.

 

The chicken sector is the second largest meat sector after pork and consumes one-fifth of EU cereal production. It provided employment to half a million people in the EU.

 

The region imports some 350,000 tonnes of chicken breast fillets from Brazil, where feed costs are four times lower.

 

In stark contrast to the situation last year, bird flu in Britain did not seem to affect the French chicken sector this year.

 

Last year, poultry sales in France plunged over 30 percent after bird flu was found at a turkey farm in February and did not recover until mid-year.

 

This year, consumption remained almost stable the week just after the British bird flu outbreak, with even a slight increase compared to the same period in 2006, the French retail association FCD said.

 

The French poultry sector is worth EUR 6 billion a year, almost a third of the EU region's total. 

 

The poultry market of Britain, which has a confirmed case of bird flu in a turkey farm seems relatively unaffected as well, as sales have mostly held.

 

The German poultry market, where bird flu was confirmed in farm birds, causing poultry sales to 20 percent last March, has since recovered.

 

Germany does not export much poultry.

 

In Italy, poultry sales fell as much as 70 percent in February 2006 after H5N1 was detected in wild swans.

 

In Hungary, bird flu cases among farm birds are still occurring, with the latest case in January.

 

Hungary has culled thousands of poultry after it became the first EU country to report a case this year. Still, sales have held up despite the H5N1 virus, the Hungarian Poultry Product Council said.

 

In Romania, bird flu was confirmed in farm birds last year, causing sales to plunge to record lows after H5N1 was found in more than 120 locations in May 2006. Domestic sales fell 80 percent and the poultry association pegged losses at 70 million euros.

 

EU poultry production and exports

	Poultry turnover (EUR, billion)	Poultry	No. of	Percentage	Average	Export	Imports
		Production (million tonnes)	poultry (Million)	of chicken	consumption	& Markets
				in poultry		('000 tonnes)
EU-25	20	11	1,700	70%	22.88 kg
						Russia,
						Saudi Arabia,
						Ukraine
France	6	1.9	275	50%		740
						(half going outside the EU)
Britain		1.6	167	90%	28.5	275	530,000
Germany	1.1	1.2	122	90%	17.8	nil
Italy	3.5	1.1	126	80%		63( chicken)	26,775 chicken
	-2004					62 (turkey)	30,917 turkey
Nether-	1.6	0.6	90			300
lands
Spain	1.67	1.35	130		33	85	150,000
Hungary			40	75%		71 (75 percent to Germany)