Source:  MEATINGPLACE.COM, 10/27/10


Chicken production is on the rise, and there’s more supply to come.

The ready-to-cook weight of poultry certified wholesome rose 5 percent in September from the year before, to total 3.75 billion pounds, the latest USDA data show.

The increase follows an August revised total of 3.74 billion pounds, or a 6 percent jump from the same month the year before.

According to the Daily Livestock Report, production has risen 6 percent from a year ago in three of the past four weeks, while average bird weights increased to about 5.85 pounds last week from 5.5 pounds in mid-September.

“The bottom line is that there is a lot more broiler meat headed to the market from mid-November forward,” the DLR predicted. .

What’s more, the industry has ramped up egg sets and chick placements in recent weeks. Egg sets are up a “healthy” 2.5 percent year to date, the report noted.

Chicken prices will come under pressure late this year when the large number of eggs set in September and early October hit the market, predicted BB&T Capital Markets analyst Heather Jones.

Customer demand will not offset higher feed costs, “resulting in sustained losses for poultry producers,” Jones wrote in a recent report to clients.

See the USDA data here.
 

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