What's happening in Estonia's chicken market price war? Cheap meat hides a real threat

Martin Puusepp, CEO of Kapten Grant, warns that falling prices in Estonia's poultry market bring consumer satisfaction but mask a serious threat to local producers. Foreign discount chains are selling chicken drumsticks for under three euros per kilogram, putting pressure on all major retailers.

Estonia's poultry market has undergone a noticeable shift in recent months — public price databases show that the average retail price of poultry has declined consistently. A well-known foreign discount chain is offering chicken drumsticks for just 2.89 per kilogram, Selver's poultry sections are filled with yellow discount price tags, and changes are visible in Prisma stores as well.

From a consumer perspective, the situation appears ideal: more affordable food helps family budgets and competition forces all retailers to keep prices low. Yet Martin Puusepp, CEO of Kapten Grant, warns that this picture is misleading and conceals a threat with significantly more serious consequences.

Local producers under pressure

According to industry experts, the main problem lies in the fact that continuously falling prices make the economic sustainability of local poultry production questionable. If Estonian producers cannot compete with cheap imports, the result is reduced production volumes or larger producers exiting the market, ultimately damaging the entire local food security.

At the same time, consumers may not realise that the low prices available in stores today could mean reduced choice and growing dependence on imported poultry in the long term. If local production capacity weakens, Estonia's vulnerability to external supply disruptions and price fluctuations increases.

A food security question

Puusepp emphasizes that the current price war is not merely a market phenomenon but extends throughout the entire sector's structure. Estonian consumers should consider what it means in the longer perspective if the domestic poultry industry loses its viability. The cheap price in the store may turn out to be costly when considering its impact on the resilience of the local food system.