The EU is world one of the world’s top poultry meat producers and a net exporter of poultry products. Poultry meat is covered by the Common Market Organisation that provides a framework for development of the sector, guaranteeing a level playing field for EU producers and ensuring product quality to meet consumer expectations.
With a yearly production of some 14,5 million tons of carcass weight, the EU ranks third in world’s poultry meat production after USA and Brazil, and takes a third position in terms of world’s poultry meat exports, following Brazil and USA. Poultry is reared in all EU Member States but more than 70% of the EU's poultry meat is produced in six countries: Poland, UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy.
The EU imports high value poultry products, including breast meat and poultry preparations, mainly from Brazil, Thailand and Ukraine, while the EU exports poultry products of lower value.