Poland’s egg industry rebounds despite raging bird flu

The egg market in Poland has experienced major price turbulence due to the outbreaks of bird flu and Newcastle diseases. Photo: Bert Jansen

In January 2025, the number of laying hens hatched in Poland was higher than a year earlier, Paweł Podstawka, president of the National Federation of Poultry Breeders and Egg Producers, has revealed. The positive shift has been registered for the first time in nearly 2 years despite bird flu sweeping across the country.

Podstawka reported that 3.2 million laying hens hatched at poultry farms in Poland in January 2025, which is 8.6% up compared with January 2024, when the figure stood at 2.9 million. During the last few years, the production dynamics followed a somewhat steady downward spiral. For comparison, in January 2023, 3.3 million laying hens hatched and in January 2022, 3.8 million heads.

According to Podstawka, the downward trend reversed in January for the first time since 2023. “We have a signal indicating a rise in the number of laying hens on Polish farms, which gives a chance of an increase in the supply of eggs,” Podstawka said, expressing hopes that growing output will help tame the inflation.

Low-base effect

However, it might be too early to celebrate the end of the crisis. During the past few months, 6 million heads of poultry were culled in Poland, including nearly 3 million laying hens, he estimated. The recent growth could be the industry’s reaction to the sharp decline in laying hens population. Moreover, given huge losses, it may take several months for the industry to return to the number of laying hens preceding the recent outbreaks, Podstawka said.

Still, Podstawka expressed confidence that the growth in the number of hatched laying hens in January was a positive signal for the industry.

Price turbulence

The egg market in Poland experienced major price turbulence due to the outbreaks of bird flu and Newcastle diseases, Katarzyna Gawrońska, director of the National Chamber of Poultry and Feed Producers, told local news outlet Strefa Agro.

Since the beginning of the year, 25 bird flu outbreaks have been registered in Poland, claiming 2.06 million heads in total, Gawrońska said. Newcastle disease claimed around 318,000 heads of poultry, she added.

Bird flu causes losses

Bird flu results in huge losses to players along the value chain, Gawrońska said. “This virus continues to strike, attacking hens and broilers, and clearly causing major problems not only for slaughterhouses in sourcing poultry but also for hatcheries, which cannot sell chicks that have hatched and were ordered under existing contracts,” Gawrońska explained.

In addition, other countries introduced restrictions on the import of poultry from Poland, Gawrońska said, saying that as the country remains a major poultry exporter, these restrictions are expected to be painful for the industry.