April 29, 2008

UK poultry prices expected to jump in 10 years

UK poultry prices could increase significantly in the next 10 years due to soaring grain prices.

As 100 percent grain-fed animals, the price of chickens is dependent on grain prices, which have soared by 50 percent in the past 6 months.

The rise is caused to a mix of factors, including the drought in Australia, increasing meat demand, and crops being grown for biofuels rather than for food.

Feed also accounts for 60 percent of a chicken's production costs, therefore grain prices will have a significant impact on chicken prices as well.

An egg price in the UK has increased by 34 percent in the past 9 months. The trend will continue, according to Giles Oldroyd of the John Innes Centre, an independent international centre of plant science and microbiology in the UK.

While the practise of intensive farming will continue, but they will no longer cost GBP 2 (US$4), said Oldroyd.