February 22, 2012

Turkey meat production for the US is expected to decline slightly in the first quarter of 2012 while forecast predictions show an increase in the remaining three quarters.

Turkey meat production in 2012 is forecast to rise by 1.1% compared to 2011. If this forecast is realised, this would be the second year of increase after declination in 2009 and 2010. The increased meat production is expected to arise from a larger number of birds slaughtered, as average liveweight at slaughter is expected to remain near year earlier levels.

According to the USDA's Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook, turkeys slaughtered in 2011 was 2% more than the previous year. There was a decrease in the number of birds slaughtered in the previous two years.

Turkey meat production in fourth quarter of 2011 was down by less than 1% from the previous year. This was due to the fact that the number of turkeys slaughtered dropped by 0.6%.

The increased turkey meat production in the first three quarters of 2011 has led to higher turkey cold storage holdings over all four quarters in 2011. Stocks of whole birds and turkey parts were both higher compared with the previous year.

The national prices for frozen whole hen turkeys in January 2012 rose by 12% as compared to the same month a year ago.