Domestic Price of Poultry

IBISWorld expects the domestic price of poultry to increase by 2.4% during 2023-24, to reach 102.4 index points. Prices are expected to rise in the current year, carried by the rising tide of high inflation. Food prices, including poultry prices, skyrocketed in 2022-23 and are continuing on an upward trajectory in the current year, mainly due to heightened inflationary pressures. Nonetheless, rising interest rates are anticipated to reduce inflation in the latter months of the year, limiting poultry price rises. However, grains, such as wheat, oats and barley, which are used to feed chickens, are expected to become more expensive in 2023-24, placing upward pressure on rising 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 ramped up 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 have resumed, after many hens with infectious bursal disease (IBD) were slaughtered in 2020-21, which has also contributed to increased demand and upward pressure on poultry prices.