Barbecue season to start early

The Agricultural Business Research Institute (AKI) monitors trends in the world markets of meat and poultry. Data from the Market and Price Information System of KSH and AKI can be useful for making even short term business decisions. Exports of livestock of cattle from Hungary continued to expand in 2007, though at a slower pace than in preceding years. Hungarian livestock grew by 10 per cent in January-November 2007. Revenues from export increased by only 3 per cent as a result of a drop in prices. The largest target market of cattle was Greece, with a 30 per cent share from total export. The cattle market of the EU is stable at present. While the average price of “R3” young bulls remained unchanged, other cattle prices were 1-4 per cent higher this January than a year earlier. Following a period of continuous increase, the price of chicken intended for slaughter stabilised in the first weeks of 2008 and even dropped somewhat in some countries (Hungary, Poland). As the barbecue season is expected to begin early, this might lead to an increase in price. Prices in the countries with the largest production (Poland, Spain) did not rise in the second half of 2007, though these were still much higher than a year before.