Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 December 2023
450. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which he and his Department continue to monitor the poultry sector, with particular reference to any threats to the industry; the degree to which potential for growth remains; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56227/23]
View answerMy Department continues to monitor the markets and any impacts on the agri-food sector and I am acutely aware of the pressures being faced by many in the agri-food sector due to the increase in input costs, exacerbated by the impact of the illegal war in Ukraine. As in other meat sectors, global trade conditions will be crucial in determining the outlook for the Irish poultry sector over the medium to longer term.
Poultry is normally reared under contract to processors, for a pre-agreed price, and therefore poultry producers are not typically subject to the same price fluctuations as other farmers.
Poultrymeat, which is a high protein food source, has seen an increase in demand in recent years and while there was a slight decrease in Poultry prices in November 2023 of 4.36%, when compared to the average price paid in November 2022, the November average price for 2023 is 13.21% and 10.77% higher than the average price paid in November 2020 and 2021 respectively.
In Ireland, Poultry Prices in 2023 have remained stable throughout the year and the average price, for the period Jan to Nov 2023, of €2.48 compares favorably with the average price of €2.38, which was achieved in the same 11-month period of 2022.
2023 has shown signs of growth in overall Poultry production with slaughter figures, as of Week 48 of 2023, up by 3.85% on the same period of 2022 and if current weekly trends continue, the overall slaughter figures for 2023, could exceed 110m birds.
According to the CSO figures, released for September 2023, the UK (€247m) accounted for 78.39% of 2022 total exports in terms of value (€). The Netherlands (€19.6m), France (€9.08m) Germany (€7.09m) and Spain (€6.1m) also featured prominently as Poultry Meat export destinations in 2022 and these Countries accounted for just over 91.6% of total Irish Poultry Meat exports in 2022.
For the Jan to Sept period 2023, poultry exports are slightly lower in value in comparison to the same period of 2022, coming in at €209.7 million (-9.14%) with a corresponding decrease in tonnage at 75,565 tonnes, a decrease of 1.8%.
Securing market access and diversifying trade remains a key aim for my Department and developing market opportunities at home and abroad is one of the goals of Food Vision 2030.
I am also very aware of the contribution of the poultry production sector to Irish agri-food as a whole, supporting significant levels of direct employment as well as their role in supporting rural economies and the wider national economy and I firmly believe that the poultry production sector in Ireland is in a strong position.
