US poultry production moving upward

US broiler meat production is on the rebound, spurred by rising chick placements after a poor showing in the first half of 2009, according to the USDA in its latest industry outlook.

Production could exceed year-ago levels by the fourth quarter, the report said.

While broiler production is seen down about two percent in the second half of 2009 compared to the previous year, broiler product prices are projected to increase, especially if export demand remains high.

Chicks placed for grow-out are increasing because of the higher broiler meat prices, the USDA said.

By the start of the fourth quarter, the USDA expects chick placements to be down slightly from a year ago, driving up broiler meat production in the quarter to above last year's levels.

Lower production and stock levels have pushed up prices for many broiler products over the past several months, but May prices for most broiler products were still slightly below the previous year, the USDA said.

In April, broiler meat output fell 6.3 percent from the previous year to three billion pounds. Processors slaughtered 721 million broilers in April, down 6.6 percent from a year ago. The average liveweight of birds at slaughter was 5.57 pounds, down slightly from the previous year. There was a slight increase in the average meat yield per bird.

US broiler meat exports rose 9.5 percent to 2.3 billion pounds during January to April 2009, mainly due to larger shipments to Mexico and China/Hong Kong that offset a sharp decline of exports to Russia, the USDA said.

Turkey meat production is projected to drop sharply in 2009 before growing slightly in 2010. Still, turkey meat production in 2010 is forecast to drop five percent from 2008.