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Chicken at center of global stage: Pilgrim’s Pride CEO Lovette
Story Date: 4/22/2013
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Source: Lisa M. Keefe, MEATINGPLACE, 4/19/13
As demand for protein rises globally in the coming decades, demand for chicken is expected to rise more than for other proteins, according to Bill Lovette, president and CEO of Pilgrim’s Pride Corp.
Lovette spoke as one of the top executives on a panel for the 2013 Chicken Media Summit here. He was joined by Sanderson Farms’ President and COO Lampkin Butts, and Perdue Farms’ Chairman Jim Perdue.
Noting the projections that the global population will add 2 billion more people by 2050 — nearly 30 percent growth from current levels — and that the vast majority of that growth will occur in developing countries in need of more protein in their diets, Lovette broke down the data regarding poultry production and export.
The U.S. is the largest chicken producer with about 20 percent of global production; China is second with about 17 percent and Brazil, third, with about 15 percent of production. However, China’s production is nearly all for domestic consumption: That country is moving toward greater production of poultry over pork, due to poultry’s greater feed efficiencies, Lovette says.
That means, he notes, “The U.S. is going to provide most of the chicken to the world.”
In 1990, for example, the U.S. poultry industry exported about 1.1 billion pounds of poultry; in 2012 that total was 7.1 billion pounds.
While historically most of the U.S. poultry industry’s exports have been dark meat, that dynamic is changing. Demographic shifts across the country and the influences of ethnic — often Asian — cuisines on the American diet are boosting sales of dark meat in this country.
Three reasons
Lovette explained three key reasons for the popularity of U.S. poultry in the global market: first is value and affordability, the result of available feed and the efficiencies of the domestic industry.
Second is that, “With our federal system of inspection, we produce the safest, most wholesome and nutritious product on the planet,” he said.
And finally is the United States’ sophisticated systems of logistics and distribution. In Brazil, for example, a bumper crop of a commodity may go to waste in that country’s relatively rudimentary railroad and seaport infrastructure, Lovette noted; “that would never happen here,” he said.
Finally, Lovette said of Pilgrim’s Pride, by way of example, “We’re all over the planet in terms of our market presence and we’re in tune with what’s happening in Khazakhstan and Africa and Asia, and we’re tailoring our products to meet the needs of those consumers.”
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