April 23, 2007

US poultry meat production registers first decline in 33 years

US broiler meat production for 2007 would register a decline for the first time in 33 years, down almost 0.5 percent to 16.14 million tonnes from 16.22 million tonnes last year.

According to the Economic Research Service (ERS) of the USDA, this will be the first decline in production since 1973.

Estimated broiler cold storage holdings at the end of the first quarter of 2007 was 30 percent lower than the previous year, reduced to 610 million lbs.

Cold storage holdings of almost all broiler products were down in February. Products such as leg quarters, drumsticks, and thighs were almost half of that during the same time in 2006.