December 24, 2004

 

 

High Demand for US Mississippi Chicken Overseas

 

Catfish, cattle and chickens generated the highest revenue for US Mississippi agricultural products in 2004.

 

Row crops, which did well in production, are not expected to bring as high a profit.

 

Overseas demand for broilers ¡ª the most select size of chickens ¡ª fueled poultry's economic jump from $1.6 billion in 2003 to $2 billion in 2004, according to John Anderson, agricultural economist with Mississippi State University. It was a 25.6 percent boost.

 

"Most of the chicken that you eat is what you call a broiler," Anderson said.

 

Hogs also saw a big boost in value, going from $42.4 million in 2003 to $62 million this year.

Poultry and hogs increased in value partly because markets expanded when some countries stopped exporting beef following problems surrounding mad cow disease.

 

"Hog prices have been phenomenal this year. That's a pretty good indication that demand is pretty strong. There is higher foreign demand for pork, too," Anderson said. "In Japan, there is no US beef (imported) now, but pork is going well."

 

The November hog prices of $55.30 per hundred weight are up $3.20 from October and up $20.60 from a year ago, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

 

Despite the shift in the market, cattle still fared well. The value in Mississippi grew from $189.5 million in 2003 to $214.9 million this year.

 

The increased value is attributed to the fact there are fewer head of cattle in the state and the national demand for beef remains strong, Anderson said.

A 17.7 percent increase is expected in the value of catfish. Depressed prices thinned the ranks of pond-raised catfish growers, but the industry is expected to bring in $263.6 million.

 

Growers are averaging 70 cents per pound. This compares to the 56 per pound they averaged in 2002 and the 58 cents per pound average of 2003.

 

"Acreage is down and we've got good yields. Demand is strong and the supply is somewhat tightened, so I think we're going to see stable prices throughout the year '05. But there are still imports that we're still having to contend with," said Roger Barlow, president of the Catfish Institute in Belzoni.

 

Final tallies for row crops are expected to be complete in early January, said Tommy Gregory, Mississippi's agricultural statistician with the USDA.

 

It appears the expected cotton yield of 1,000 pounds per acre could surpass last year's record yield of 943 pounds per acre.

 

It comes in a year when farmers had worried that sporadic summer rains would hurt their crops.

 

"It is a (potential) record high for the state of Mississippi. And it's for a host of different reasons. And the weather cooperated even though in the summer we thought it was too wet," Gregory said.

 

The crop is expected to bring $522.9 million, 15.5 percent less than the $618.7 million in 2003.

 

Cotton's growth can be attributed to new seed varieties and improved methods of growing it, Gregory said.

 

The soybean crop is expected to bring $333.7 million, 12.6 percent less than the $382 million it brought in 2003. The yield is expected to be 39 bushels per acre, the same as a year ago.