Chicken Prices On The Rise But It’s Still The Favourite Protein For Kiwi Families

A combination of domestic and international factors is forcing New Zealand’s largest poultry supplier Tegel to raise its prices from July.

The roughly 10% price rise is a result of ongoing cost pressures on the industry, including increases in labour, feed and fuel impacting supply chain costs.

“No business is exempt from the rising costs of labour, transport, fuel and logistics. We’ve also seen across-the-board increases in insurance and utilities and this, coupled with employee shortages, has meant that there are no costs going down,” says Tegel Chief Executive Officer Egbert Segers.

The Ukraine war is also compounding issues. “Prior to the Ukraine war, we were seeing global pressure on grain demand, availability was tight, and prices were rising. The war has now put added pressure on the availability and supply of grains and oil seed products which are key components in chicken feed around the world.”

Segers says: “The price of feed is at a more than 20-year high and even the 10% price rise won’t cover the ongoing cost pressures on chicken producers. However, we understand our role as the market leader in chicken in New Zealand so Tegel are working with retailers to ensure affordable options remain available to all customers. Chicken has always been a great protein source and is still significantly cheaper than most red meat cuts. We will continue to work hard to make sure it remains accessible to as many Kiwis as possible.”

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