Domestic price of poultry

IBISWorld expects the domestic price of poultry to increase by 1.2% during 2025-26, to reach 101.2 index points. Prices are expected to rise in the current year, following a slight decline in the previous year as prices stabilised from extreme inflationary pressures. Food prices, including poultry prices, skyrocketed in 2022-23, mainly due to heightened inflationary pressures. However, grains, such as wheat, oats and barley, which are used to feed chickens, are expected to become more expensive in 2025-26, placing upward pressure on poultry prices.

Poultry production has increased over the past five years. Poultry is the most consumed meat in New Zealand and consumption has grown strongly over the past two decades. Consumers have increasingly favoured poultry over traditional red meats like beef and lamb, due to its relatively low fat content. Poultry processors like Tegel and Inghams have increased production to capitalise on rising demand for chicken, turkey and other poultry meats. However, demand has outpaced the growth in production over the past five years, pushing up poultry prices. Exports to Australia resumed after many hens with infectious bursal disease (IBD) were slaughtered in 2020-21, which also contributed to increased demand and upward pressure on poultry prices. Poultry exports have been paused again in December 2024 as a case of avian influenza was detected in an Otago farm.

High profit margins booked by the supermarket duopoly in New Zealand have been one of the main drivers of rising poultry prices over the past five years, and particularly in 2022-23. Greater consumer interest in higher value free-range and organic poultry products, driven by animal welfare concerns and health consciousness trends, has also boosted poultry prices over the period. Overall, IBISWorld forecasts the domestic price of poultry to increase at a compound annual rate of 4.6% over the five years through 2025-26.