Market Trends of north america poultry meat Industry
Growing demand from domestic and foreign markets is expected to boost regional production
- In 2021, the United States was the largest producer of poultry in the region, followed by Mexico and Canada, with shares of 83.31%, 8.15% and 6.4%, respectively. Poultry production in the US is forecasted to be 1% higher in 2023 to 21.3 million tons. In 2022, the US poultry industry was the world's largest producer and second-largest exporter of poultry meat. Poultry production in the US mostly expanded from 2013 to 2022 to meet domestic and foreign consumer demand. In 2021, 9.13 billion broilers were produced in the United States, a 1% dip from 2020. From this, a total of 59.2 billion pounds of live-weight broilers were produced in 2021, a minor dip from 2020.
- Turkey's meat production in the United States during January-September 2022 was 3.91 billion pounds, 7% down from the same period in 2021. However, a decline in turkey production was outweighed by increases in broiler production. Poultry production in the US has a competitive advantage due to abundant domestic feed resources, primarily soybean meal, and corn as feed, which is generally the most significant production cost across livestock. In 2021, poultry farmers in Canada produced 1.5 billion kilograms of chicken, turkey, and stewing hens, an increase of 1.4% compared with the previous year. Poultry farmers produced 1.3 billion kilograms of chicken in 2021, which accounted for 89.9% of total poultry production in Canada. In 2021, turkey production declined 5.0% to 150.4 million kilograms compared with 2020. Poultry farming is the most prevalent livestock industry in Mexico. In 2021, poultry represented more than 60% of Mexico's livestock production. It generated 0.89% of Mexico's overall GDP in 2019. The poultry farming industry provided 28.1% of Mexico's agricultural GDP and 36.6% of its livestock GDP.
Rising feed prices are influencing the market
- The FAO Meat Price Index states that chicken meat reached its highest price in June 2022 since 1990. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the Poultry Meat Index counts 130,39 points, which is 28.9% more than in June 2021. The number was also 4.5% above 124.74 points during June 2022, which is against the trend of the general FAO Food Price Index, which dropped slightly from 157.9 points in May to 154.2 points in June 2022.
- Another factor driving the price of chicken is the cost of poultry feed. Compared to previous years, the cost of corn and soybeans has been quite high, thus boosting the price of chicken once it reaches a restaurant or grocery store. The price of conventional soybeans reached a seven-year high in 2021 to USD 33 per bushel in September. At the same time, during 2021-2022, average corn prices increased by 21% Y-o-Y to USD 5.45 per bushel.
- The spread of the highly virulent avian influenza, also known as bird flu, across the United States in 2022 has compelled farmers to annihilate close to 280 backyard and commercial flocks in 32 states since January 2022. This factor resulted in a decrease in supply and a price increase, with consumers paying about 5% more for entire chickens than they did a year ago, which is only a relative value given that supermarket prices have risen 10%. Similarly, prices for whole-hen frozen turkey in the first quarter were reported at USD 1.31 per pound, up 19% from 2021. Prices for all types of meat rose across the globe, with poultry prices rising sharply to an all-time high. The price rise was majorly due to the continuous tight global supply conditions impacted by the war in Ukraine and bird flu outbreaks in the northern hemisphere.