We eat chicken a lot.
But how many people know how many people eat chicken in the world and which countries are the main players in the poultry sector?
Some data can be derived from export and import reports. They are not opinions, but facts that alternately determine or are determined by geopolitical, social, economic and health tensions.
Here are some data in summary that you can deepen through the links at the bottom of the page:
“The updated document of the fifth edition of the World Poultry Map has been published, presenting an overview of the main developments in the world poultry markets, with particular attention to trade.
Exports from Brazil, Thailand, Ukraine, Russia and China have increased. And imports to Asia have also increased significantly, while those of Russia and Ukraine, which were among the main importers, have practically disappeared.
Middle Eastern countries have focused on food security with increased local production, while Africa is establishing itself as an importer.
However, the EU, the UK and Japan are still the most valuable import markets, albeit with limited growth.
The global poultry trade is worth 32.5 billion dollars (48 if intra-EU trade is included), dominated by several countries and regions (including Brazil, the United States, the EU, Thailand and China) and can be divided into four main sub-markets: dark meat, breast meat, whole chicken and further processed chicken.
Over the past 6 years (since 2018), the industry has experienced major shocks, including Covid-19 (which led to a reduction in foodservice trade), avian flu (which led to greater trade restrictions), African swine fever in pigs (which shifted demand towards chicken), slower economic growth (which reduced spending power) and high and volatile feed costs (which impacted chicken prices).
The sector was also affected by geopolitical tensions due to the war in Ukraine, turmoil in the Middle East and increased trade tensions between Western countries and China, which has increasingly focused on food security.
These “disruptions” have resulted in a more volatile and constantly changing trade. Brazil was the most prominent in global trade growth, becoming the protagonist with 90% of the growth in global trade since 2018, followed by Thailand, China, Ukraine and Russia.
The EU and the United States have decreased their exports since 2018.
The largest global importers of chicken were China, Japan, the EU, the UK, Mexico and Saudi Arabia. Compared to 2018, China, the Philippines, Mexico and the UK imported significantly more chicken, while South Africa, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States, the EU and Japan imported less.
In the coming years, global trade growth is expected to be slow, with continued price volatility and the growing impact of geopolitical tensions and competition.
Brazilian exports are likely to maintain their trend of remaining global leaders, and Thailand, China, Russia and Ukraine could further expand their share.”
The original and further information at these links:
