September 3, 2004

Hawaii Broiler Production Rises 4%
 

Hawaii broiler production for the first half of 2004 hit 16.7 billion pounds, up 4 percent compared with last year.

The number of broilers slaughtered was 4.3 billion, rising of 3.3 percent. The growth in production was attributed to the increase in chicken size on average this year, the Hawaii Department of Agriculture said Thursday.

Production during the second quarter of 2004 was 2.6 percent higher than the previous year.

"Broiler meat production during the second half of 2004 is expected to be higher than during the same period in 2003. This is because broiler companies respond to the stronger prices seen over the first several months of 2004," said Don Martin, director of the Hawaii Agricultural Statistics Service.

"While broiler prices have fallen in the most recent months, they were considerably stronger over the first half of 2004 than during the same period in 2003."

The number of chicks being placed weekly for growout has averaged 173.9 million over the last 5 weeks (July 10 to August 7). This is a 3.4 percent increase over the same period in 2003. The broiler meat production estimates for the third and fourth quarters are 8.8 and 8.6 billion pounds respectively. These production levels are 3.9 and 3.8 percent higher than the previous year.