Bulgaria: Poultry Market Update

FAS/Sofia expects growth in Bulgarian poultry production in 2024, driven by declining feed/production costs and improving competitiveness, as well as by continued growth in consumer incomes, travel, and tourism. Expanding demand is already leading to higher poultry meat output in the first months of 2024. High Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) outbreaks began to hit the industry in the fall of 2023 but only one broiler farm has been affected, while the impact on layer and duck farms has been much more significant. Consumption of poultry meat in the country reached a new record in 2023, driven by improving incomes, and a significant rebound in the food service industry. Demand recovered faster than domestic supply and was met by double digit percentage growth in imports.