Source: Michael Fielding, MEATINGPLACE, 12/26/14


Broiler shipments in October 2014 decreased 3.3 percent from a year earlier, totaling 652.9 million pounds. Top export partners in October included Mexico, Angola, Canada, China, and Cuba, with Mexico leading with 129.3 million pounds shipped in October. The second highest U.S. export market was Angola, with 58.4 million pounds shipped, followed by Canada with 37.1 million pounds. China and Cuba finished fourth and fifth, with exports totaling 27.0 and 25.1 million pounds, respectively.

Destinations with significant quantity increases in U.S. broiler shipments in October 2014 included Mexico and Hong King, each with year-over- year increases greater than 10 million pounds, according to the Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook report of the Economic Research Service.

There were significant drops in shipments to Kazakhstan (11 million pounds less) and Lithuania (10.4 million pounds less than in October last year). Russia’s ban on poultry imports resulted in 54.9 million pounds less in shipments than last October’s total. The loss of exports to Russia exceeded the total net loss for U.S. broiler exports for the month.

In August, the Russian Government announced a one-year ban on agricultural product imports from several countries, including the United States. While it is less of a destination than in prior years, Russia had been a large market for U.S. broiler exports in 2014. On a year-to-date basis through June 2014, 7.5 percent of U.S. broiler shipments had been sent to Russia. The October drop in exports to Russia was countered by large increases for multiple Asian, Former Soviet Union, Middle Eastern and Sub-Saharan African markets.

It has been anticipated that a share of the product that would have gone to Russia will continue to be partly absorbed by other markets, especially if the additional supply leads to downward pressure on leg quarter prices, but the scale of the absorption thus far has been greater than expected. Over the period of the ban, aggregate trade has only declined by 30.2 million pounds (-1.6 percent) compared with the same period last year.

Of the 147.8 million fewer pounds of broiler meat shipped to Russia than in August through October of 2013, 79.5 percent was offset by gains in other markets. USDA forecasts 7.319 billion pounds of broiler exports for 2014 and forecasts 7.400 billion pounds of broiler exports for 2015.

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