China expands domestic broiler genetics - GAIN
Lower efficiency could limit growth
19 March 2025
2 minute read
By: Industry sources indicate that the population of both China's parent stock and grandparent stock in 2024 is higher than in 2023, according to a recent US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report.
The USDA post in China expects the higher population of grandparent stock in 2024 will enable higher production of white broiler chicken meat in 2025. However, the lower production efficiency of domestically produced genetics could curb higher growth of chicken meat production.
China’s production of commercial white broiler chicken is heavily depended on imported genetics. Due to restrictions on imported genetics, white broiler producers increased the use of domestically produced genetics.
According to industry sources, the market share of domestically produced genetics has increased and now occupies more than 30 percent of the genetics market share in 2024. Although domestically produced genetics have a lower per unit price compared to imported genetics, the production efficiency of domestically produced genetics is usually lower.
Sources indicate that in 2024, despite increased population of parent generation broilers, growth of commercial generation broiler production remained limited, resulting in high chick prices. Post believes lower production efficiency of domestically produced genetics could also contribute to higher prices of commercial chicks.
Central and local governments in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) are encouraging, through subsidies and other means, white broiler producers to use domestically produced genetics. For example, Liaoning Province and Shandong Province announced subsidies for breeding farms that used domestically developed white feather broiler breeds in 2024. According to media reports, a major domestic company that developed a domestically produced genetic line has over 20 percent of the entire genetics market share in 2024 and plans to take 40 percent of the market share by the end of 2025.
