US poultry sector to rebound in 2010

 

 

This year will be a profitable one for US poultry producers as prices will improve from last year.

 

US bulk leg quarter prices are expected to be lower in the first half of 2010 than in the same period of 2009, but prices will exceed year-before levels in the second half of the year and will end 2010 around US$0.10 per pound higher than at the end of 2009.

 

Boneless skinless breast meat prices should also be higher in the US throughout 2010 than in 2009.

 

Higher grain and energy prices have made live production performance more important than 20 years ago, and live performance last year had been outstanding. The long-term trend of improvement has been attributed to several factors including enhancements in bird genetics and in on-farm equipment and housing, as well as increased downtime between broiler flocks which was a result of production cutbacks.

 

Average livability for the industry was over 96% in 2009, up 1.5% from 20 years ago. Improved flock health has also resulted in about two-thirds reduction in the rate of field condemnations at the processing plant from the levels of 20 years ago.

 

The range between the best and poorest performing companies in terms of feed cost per live pound of broiler has increased from around US$0.05 per pound in 2005 to US$0.11 per pound in 2009. This increased spread results from the costs of grain purchasing positions, logistics of moving grain and differences in bird performance.

 

Summing all these together, 2010 is expected to be a good year for the US poultry industry, according to analysts.