Arenys de Mar, 30 Dec. 2025. Ten months have passed since the launch of NeXusAvicultura at the end of February 2025. We must acknowledge that these have been very intense months for the poultry sector — marked by corporate movements, the practical application of technological advances we have only just begun to cover, the Sword of Damocles of avian influenza, the cross-cutting nature of the countless applications of artificial intelligence in poultry production, and much more. Many changes and consolidating trends that we have endeavoured to summarise in the ten most relevant news stories / trends (the order in which the stories are presented does not reflect their relative importance) for the poultry industry, in Spain, Europe and worldwide.
In any case, there is one trend that I consider the most important of all: the unstoppable rise in per-capita consumption of both poultry meat and eggs worldwide.
There are storm clouds, certainly, but we ride on the King protein. For the professionals working in the poultry sector, technology, the R of Research in R&D — represented by the hundreds of high-level scientific teams around the world investigating how to make poultry production even more sustainable and efficient — and the D of Development in R&D — represented by the thousands of companies and their initiative driving poultry technology forward and the excellence of our product — open the door to a very promising future, one in which we should be rightly proud of our mission: to feed the world.
Happy 2026!!
Federico Castelló
Director and Founder of NeXusAvicultura
1-. The outbreak of avian influenza in commercial poultry operations.
As a result of the scattered yet highly numerous avian influenza outbreaks among migratory birds in Western Europe — also affecting Spain — this year the virus has struck several large commercial poultry operations in central, north-western Spain and Catalonia, causing considerable disruption primarily in the egg market.
> Find out more: https://nexusavicultura.com/tag/influenza-aviar/
2-. The global debate over avian influenza control strategies.
Given the globalised spread of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus, countries that have suffered its consequences most severely (USA, France, the United Kingdom, etc.) continue to debate the potential merits of implementing vaccination programmes on commercial farms.
> Find out more: https://nexusavicultura.com/tag/influenza-aviar-vacunacion-de-las-aves/
3-. The ongoing pressure from the ECC to change broiler production systems.
Despite having made little headway in Spain so far, the campaign by the promoters of these aggressive animal welfare movements continues, seeking to enrol companies in this sector under their production system, notwithstanding a considerable increase in costs.
> Find out more: https://nexusavicultura.com/tag/european-chicken-commitment-ecc/
4-. The approval of the industry levy extension for poultry meat production.
Its recent entry into force will mean that all relevant production sectors (broilers, turkeys and quail) will be involved in Avianza promotional campaigns for these meats over the coming years.
> Find out more: https://nexusavicultura.com/tag/extension-de-norma/
5-. The entry of major foreign investment into Spain’s poultry sector.
Both in the broiler meat sector and in the egg sector — the former through the acquisition of a Navarrese and a Leonese producer, and the latter through purchases by other foreign groups — this past year has seen growing interest from major international and domestic investors seeking a prominent position in the Spanish poultry sector.
> Find out more: https://nexusavicultura.com/tag/compras-y-adquisiciones/
6-. The continuous, unprecedented rise in egg prices.
In a sustained yet constant and highly significant manner throughout this year, egg prices have risen to unprecedented levels, attributable in part to AI cases in the Spanish and broader European market, but also to the substantial investment still required to complete the transition to cage-free systems, among other cost increases (animal health, labour costs, technology, etc.).
> Find out more: Egg prices on NeXusAvicultura
7-. Automated sexing of day-old broiler chicks.
Reviving the long-standing debate on the advantages of rearing male and female broilers separately, one of the most significant integrators in the broiler sector has installed the first automated chick sexing system at a hatchery in northern Spain, facilitating the adoption of separate rearing of males and females and broadening the debate on in ovo automated sexing with the new possibilities offered by automated day-old chick sexing.
8-. Tensions in international markets over soya bean prices.
Despite a downward trend in poultry feed prices this year and slightly higher stocks of cereals and soya beans, international markets remain unsettled due to a growing European and US dependence on many micro-ingredients from China, a shift in soya bean exports with Brazil gaining ground at the expense of the USA, EU requirements to guarantee that soya bean is sourced from non-deforested areas, and more.
> Find out more: https://nexusavicultura.com/category/nutricion-aviar/
9-. The growing application of artificial intelligence in poultry production.
The poultry sector could not remain on the sidelines of the multiple applications of artificial intelligence across its many areas (bioacoustics, imaging, computed tomography, data, genetics, etc.) for environmental monitoring and the behaviour and welfare of birds on farm.
> Find out more: https://nexusavicultura.com/tag/inteligencia-artificial-en-avicultura/
10-. The confinement of free-range and organic laying hens.
Given the aforementioned spread of avian influenza outbreaks in Spain, one of the official measures taken to curb transmission has been the mandatory housing of free-range and organic egg-laying hens, prompting consumer organisations to question whether these products could continue to be labelled as such.
> Find out more: https://nexusavicultura.com/tag/confinamiento/
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