May 22, 2007

Brazil sees increase in chicken breeding

Brazil's chicken flock has grown 8.7 percent compared to 2006, reaching 41.75 million heads, according to the country's poultry news agency AviSite.

AviSite based its projection on the results in the first four months of 2007 and the average historic record of annual growth between 6.3 percent and 9.6 percent during the period.

Avisite estimates chicken breeding would be 13.217 million hens in the period from January to April 2007 and 14.048 million in May to August 2007.

The figure would further increase to 14.482 million from September to December 2007.

AviSite said 2006 is an anomaly due to the global bird flu outbreaks which affected chicken consumption.