However, if the business conducted between member states of the European Union is excluded then the global figure contracts to around 700,000 tonnes.

The latest trade figures covering all countries are presented in tables 4 and 6.

Table 4.

# less than 50 tonnes

_{^{Source: FAO}}

Exports of fresh/frozen turkey meat trended upwards during the review period from a low of 903,000 tonnes in 2000 to exceed a million tonnes in 2012.

In a few instances the data for individual countries does not represent exports of domestically-grown birds, but are imported products either being re-exported or being trans-shipped through that country.

The turkey export trade is dominated by sales from the Americas and Europe with these two regions representing more than 97 per cent of the business in 2012.

The USA is the leading exporter of turkey meat in the Americas and the world.

In 2012 this country’s sales of fresh/frozen turkey exceeded 332,000 tonnes, while her exports of all forms of turkey meat (Table 5) amounted to 362,000 tonnes. In that year US exports represented just over 13 per cent of production.

Table 5.

+ Excludes trade between member countries

^{_{Source: USDA}}

Mexico continued to be the dominant market taking 187,000 tonnes (52 per cent by volume but 55 per cent by value), followed by China with 46,000 tonnes, the Philippines and Canada each taking 14,000 tonnes and Hong Kong 12,000 tonnes. Much of the trade was in lower value turkey parts or ground or mechanically deboned meat which is often combined with other meats in sausage production.

Exports declined in 2013 to 344,000 tonnes but recovered in 2014 to 364,000 tonnes.

However, the most recent forecasts by the USDA's WASDE for 2015 point to a reduction in trade to 328,000 tonnes, while an upswing to around 358,000 tonnes is envisaged for 2016. Long-term projections point to continued expansion in this business to reach a “high” of more than 400,000 tonnes by 2023.

Brazil is the next largest exporter in the Americas with sales of all forms of turkey including prepared/processed items peaking at 170,000 tonnes in 2012 (Table 5) of which European Union countries took almost a half.

But a cutback in domestic production and lower sales to the EU resulted in a fall in total exports in 2014 to 126,000 tonnes, of which the EU took 52,000 tonnes or 41 per cent.

Nevertheless, as a result of depreciation in the Brazilian currency a rise in shipments is anticipated for 2015 with increased sales to Angola, South Africa, Peru, Chile and the Middle East.

Canada’s annual turkey meat exports show little change over time. Some 60 per cent are turkey portions and 38 per cent cooked and other prepared items.

Exports from Chile have increased fourfold since 2000 rising from 5,000 to 20,000 tonnes in 2012 of which 4,000 tonnes went to the USA, and 3,300 tonnes to both mainland China and Mexico.

The bulk of the trade in fresh/frozen turkey meat in Europe is conducted between EU member countries.

Regarding exports, the volume sold to third countries has increased since 2009 and amounted to 131,000 tonnes in 2012, but this was nowhere near the 2000 level of 221,000 tonnes.

In 2012 it is considered that the third country trade in all forms of turkey meat amounted to 151,000 tonnes, though this figure has since declined to 142,000 tonnes in 2013 and to 135,000 tonnes in 2014 (Table 5).

A forecast for 2015 sees a further drop in these ex-intra trade exports to 125,000 tonnes.

The most surprising feature of the trade in Europe has been how exports of fresh/frozen product from Poland have escalated from nil to 117,000 tonnes during the review period. Of the latter Germany purchased nearly 46,000 tonnes (39 per cent), Spain 9,300 tonnes, the Czech Republic 7,700 tonnes and the UK 7,200 tonnes.

Traditionally France has been the largest EU exporter, but since 2000 when sales totalled 287,000 tonnes, the volumes traded have shrunk sharply to a new low of just over 87,000 tonnes in 2012.

At that time France’s leading customer was Belgium taking nearly 19,000 tonnes with Germany and Benin both purchasing 11,000 tonnes and Spain almost 10,000 tonnes.

As a result of the slump in French exports, Germany has climbed into the number two position. In stark contrast to the French experience, Germany’s exports have expanded from around 32,000 tonnes in 2000 to close on 97,000 tonnes in 2012.

In the latter year Austria was the leading customer buying nearly 24,000 tonnes, followed by the Netherlands with 18,000 tonnes, France 10,000 tonnes, Poland 6,600 tonnes and Benin 6,000 tonnes.

Table 6.

# less than 50 tonnes

^{Source FAO}

Regarding imports of turkey meat (Table 6) there are several reasons why the world annual totals do not equate with those for exports (Table 4) including:

1. Some countries only supply data to the FAO on general rather than specific trade.
2. Some countries report the data for a calendar year, while others return the data on a financial or market year basis.
3. Time lags. Goods shipped towards the end of a year may not be recorded as imports until the following year.
4. For single commodities there can be misclassification of a product between the exporter and importer.
5. Data confidentiality by one of the parties.
6. Place of origin/final destination inconsistencies. For example, country A may report the final destination as being country C when the goods actually reached C via country B with the result that country C reported that country B was the place of origin of the products.
7. Customs tax avoidance by misrepresenting a commodity when imported, or not reporting a transhipment of a commodity. In some instances exports may not be declared in order to circumvent an embargo.
8. There can be typing or calculation errors by a reporting country.
9. Product can be destroyed or lost en route due to accidents, weather conditions, etc.

Turkey meat purchases by African countries have steadily risen from 61,000 tonnes in 2000 to 142,000 tonnes in 2012.

This was primarily the result of increased purchases by Benin which is also the leading exporter in this region.

The other significant buyer is South Africa where purchases rose to 35,000 tonnes in 2013 before falling back to 25,000 tonnes in 2014. Small quantities were bought by the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Gabon.

The world’s biggest importer of turkey meat is Mexico. This country produces just 10,000 tonnes of turkey meat a year and so is dependent on imports for its requirements.

Receipts in recent years have been well down on the near 200,000 tonnes recorded in 2008. Since 2012 Mexico’s purchases have slipped a little towards 150,000 tonnes a year.

Mainland China and Saudi Arabia are the only sizeable importers in Asia taking in 2012 48,000 tonnes and 44,000 tonnes respectively.

The USA is the main supplier to China while Brazil has captured the biggest share of the Saudi market.

Imports of fresh/frozen product into the EU from outside the Community are minimal averaging around 16,000 tonnes a year. Imports of all forms of turkey meat have declined from 112,000 tonnes in 2009 to around 70,000 tonnes for 2014 which is in line with the most recent forecast for 2015.

Within the EU, Germany is easily the top importer with receipts coming close to 108,000 tonnes in 2012 (Table 6). More than 40,000 tonnes came from Poland, while Austria the UK and Portugal each sent around 11,000 tonnes.

June 2015