Source: Susan Kelly, MEATINGPLACE, 11/29/18



Consumer demand for chicken is failing to keep up with supply as broiler inventories build in freezers, recent USDA reports suggest.

Broiler production climbed 3.6 percent in the third quarter, to 10.9 million pounds, as both the number of birds slaughtered and live weights rose, USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) reported in its latest “Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook.”

Amid the fairly strong production, ending stocks were more than 17 percent higher than a year ago, at 925 million pounds, the ERS said. “This significant increase was driven by abundant inventories of other meat, wings and drumsticks,” the economists wrote.

As of Oct. 31, total stocks of chicken slipped 2 percent from the previous month but were still up 8 percent from last year, USDA said in its latest cold storage report.

Weekly chick placement data indicate that producers are scaling back production in response to weak demand reflected in accumulating inventories and low wholesale prices for certain cuts, ERS said. The number of chicks placed has trended downward since mid-September, pointing to little or no growth in anticipated birds slaughtered in the fourth quarter, the agency said.

In anticipation of slower year-over-year growth, fourth-quarter production was decreased by 25 million pounds to 10.65 million pounds, ERS said.

Ample supplies of beef and pork have led retailers and foodservice operators to step up promotions of the competing proteins at the expense of chicken, Pilgrim’s Pride Chief Executive Bill Lovette said earlier this month during the company’s third-quarter earnings call.

A leading economist will provide insights on the domestic and global markets for poultry in 2019 at the Poultry Market Intelligence Forum to be held Feb. 13 at the 2019 International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) in Atlanta. The forum is sponsored by the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY).

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