Issue 15: Chicken production in select low/middle-income region and countries: Trends and looking ahead

December 20, 2022

All major countries that raise chickens for meat and eggs are expected to see production rise in 2023.

The level of this rise is in line with the trend of 2-3% average annual increase in the past 15 years. As Rabobank's reference to its report on global animal protein outlook for 2023 puts it: "Poultry is set to maintain its consistent growth pattern".


In one study projecting global chicken meat production into 2025, among the countries with the largest production increases are Brazil, India, Indonesia, Turkey. The U.S.' share in world production of chickens may drop, while the shares from Brazil and China may approach that of the U.S. Production per capita is predicted to increase to 17.0 kg in 2025, compared to 9.8 kg in 2018.

By 2031, chicken meat is expected to make up 40% of total world meat exports (compared to beef in second place at 31%).

The vast bulk of the production, processing, marketing, and export in key countries is currently controlled by a handful of global corporations: JBS and BRF (Brazil), Tyson Foods (US), Wen’s Foodstuff Group (China), CP Foods (Thailand).

However, one must not jump to the conclusion that almost all chicken-producing countries in the world keep their chickens in U.S.-style factory farms. A considerable number of countries raise chickens in small to mid-sized commercial operations, some involving many contract growers, others don't. It is very important to understand the size and scale of operations and business models used in the specific location of interest so that interventions to address concerns are appropriate for that particular location.

Leaders of advocacy organizations no doubt follow diligently new developments in China (#1 for eggs, #3 for chicken meat), Brazil (#2 for chicken meat), U.S. (#1 for chicken meat, #2 for eggs), EU (#4 for chicken meat). But they may be less familar with other leading producing countries such as India (#3 for eggs), and curious about what is happening in different parts of the world.

This issue of ASWT highlights trends and prospects in chicken production in the sub-Saharan Africa region, and in five middle-income countries that probably don't come immediately to advocates' mind when they think of chicken production – India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Egypt, Peru.

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