Polish poultry sector faces higher EU welfare costs and Mercosur competition
Poland, the EU’s largest poultry meat producer, could face substantial investment and transport costs under planned animal-welfare rules. A 180,000-tonne preferential import quota in the EU-Mercosur agreement is also raising concerns about competition from lower-cost South American suppliers.
EU poultry leader prepares for new rules
Poland’s poultry industry is preparing for potentially higher production and logistics costs as the European Union revises animal-welfare rules. Poland is the EU’s largest producer of poultry meat, and nearly 60% of its domestic output is exported, making regulatory changes particularly important for farms, processors, carriers and foreign buyers.
Farmer.pl reports that two measures are attracting the industry’s attention: proposed rules for animal welfare during transport and an anticipated phase-out of cages. Aleksandra Fałat, a counsellor at Poland’s Permanent Representation to the EU in Brussels, said Poland transports large volumes of live poultry because of its production scale. Requirements affecting journey conditions could therefore have an outsized impact on the country.
Transport proposal could require more journeys
According to analyses by the European poultry organisations AVEC, ELPHA and EPB, the proposed transport rules could increase the number of journeys by about 36%. They estimate additional annual costs for the sector at approximately €526 million. The proposal is still being negotiated in the Council of the EU and the European Parliament, so the final obligations for producers and carriers may change.
Fałat said the Commission’s original proposal included transport times that would have made moving animals between some member states difficult. Poland worked with France, Spain and Italy to seek rules that could be implemented with lower adjustment costs while preserving cross-border poultry transport. The proposal also provides for equivalent transport standards in third countries, with compliance monitored by the relevant authorities.
Cage phase-out carries a multibillion-euro bill
In its animal-farming strategy dated 7 July 2026, the European Commission said it would propose revisions to welfare legislation for laying hens and broilers by the end of 2026, with particular attention to phasing out cages. The cage-related regulation itself had not yet been published when Farmer.pl reported on the issue.
An analysis titled “End of the Cage Age?”, prepared in part by researchers from the Warsaw University of Life Sciences and Hungary’s Institute of Agricultural Economics and published in Agriculture, found that ending cage production could reduce egg output. The scale would depend on the transition scenario. The required investment was estimated at €2–3.2 billion, creating a significant financing challenge for egg producers and other companies in the supply chain.
Mercosur quota sharpens the cost debate
The regulatory discussion coincides with concern about the EU’s trade agreement with Mercosur. According to Farmer.pl, the agreement provides a preferential tariff quota for 180,000 tonnes of poultry meat imported from South American countries. Producer organisations argue that farmers in Brazil and Argentina do not face the same environmental and animal-welfare requirements as EU producers, contributing to lower production costs.
For Poland, the combination is commercially sensitive: a sector exporting nearly 60% of its output may have to absorb higher welfare, housing and transport expenses while competing with preferential imports. Polish officials are therefore seeking equivalent requirements for EU and third-country poultry. The outcome of the transport negotiations, the details of the cage proposal and enforcement of import standards will determine how costs are distributed among producers, processors, carriers and buyers.
