Avian influenza set to influence market next year

Regions affected by the recent avian influenza outbreaks, such as the EU and Canada, are likely to suffer from lost export markets, said the report.

However, it is not all doom and gloom, for non-affected areas, such as Brazil, the prospects for 2015 look strong.

These countries could benefit from "ongoing bullish market conditions such as strong demand, low feed costs and high competing meat prices, and therefore capture some export market share from EU and Canada",​ said the report.

The report, claims Brazil, will be "the big winner"​ as global trade streams shift significantly in 2015, due to its strengthened ties with Russia and capture of the US and EU’s export shares. According to the report the country is also relatively safe from the threat of bird flu, due to its more isolated location from bird migration routes from Asia.

Report author Nan-Dirk Mulder said: "A key concern for the coming months is the spread of avian flu, which has become a global issue in recent months. Several avian flu strains are already endemic in several parts of Asia and Mexico, and the disease is increasingly spreading globally via wild birds."​

The report warned that, in the long term, industries need to prepare for ongoing disease threats, particularly in times of bird migration.

Additional trade restrictions, such as the Russian ban on poultry from the US and the EU, will also play its part in shaping the global marketplace.