Major Poultry-Producing Countries

Because Mississippi’s poultry industry is a major player on the world poultry market, events occurring in foreign countries affect the state’s industry. The U.S. led the world in poultry production with more than 16.1 million metric tons in 2006. China was second to the U.S., and its production is increasing. While China is a relatively poor country, its population is more than 1 billion, and its people eat chicken whenever it is available. Even small increases in per-capita consumption in China cause large changes in demand for chicken.

Brazil, which is the third-largest poultry producer, is a major player in the world poultry market. It has the needed grain production to feed chickens and has an ample supply of labor to grow and process the birds. It also has access to the same technology found in U.S. plants.

U.S. Broiler Exports

The U.S. consumer usually prefers white chicken meat. Dark chicken meat is often sold on the export market. During 2006, the United States exported more than 5.2 billion pounds of poultry products throughout the world with an export value greater than $2.8 billion.

Since 2004, Russia has led the world as the number-one buyer of U.S. poultry. In 2006, China dramatically increased its poultry purchases, nearly doubling their purchases from the previous year.