December 27, 2006

Israelis consume more poultry than ever

Over past eight years, poultry consumption in Israel rose by 6.5 kg average per person, according to Dun & Bradstreet survey.

Poultry consumption in Israel has been on the rise since 1998. According to the economists of Dun & Bradstreet, there has been an increase of 6.5 kg annual consumption per capita in the past eight years, which brings the total consumption per person to more than 36 kg (79.2 pounds) annually.

Italy and France consume one-third of the poultry compared to Israel while Canada's consumption is similar to Israel's. In the US, however, poultry consumption stands at 40.8 kg (89.76 pounds) per person annually, the highest in the world.

Poultry remains the preferred meat product for Israelis. Israel produces more than 300,000 tonnes of chicken and 100,000 tonnes of turkey every year of which chicken meat constitutes about 78 percent of meat consumption in Israel, followed by beef with only 10 percent, turkey with 8 percent, lamb with less than 1 percent, and other meat.

The poultry fattening industry, which includes chickens and turkeys, is estimated at NIS 4.2 billion (US$ 1 billion) in final consumer prices. Despite a drop in prices, the annual volume of the industry has not changed significantly over the past three years mostly due to the rise in levels of consumption.

The chilled poultry, which does not go through a freezing process, is the favourite product for the Israeli consumer. About 77 percent of all poultry sold in Israel are of the chilled variety.

While poultry consumption was high, meat consumption in Israel was lower than other countries, according to the study.

In Germany, more than 50 percent of the meat consumption comes from pork while Argentina relishes more beef due to high availability and low prices.