March 21, 2008

US chicken  widely promoted for Easter

Whole turkeys, fresh or frozen bone-in turkey breasts, and baking chickens are being widely promoted this week for the Easter holiday, according to a Dow Jones survey of the market.

In some cities, grocers featured fresh hen turkeys and whole chickens at or about the same price per pound. The smaller whole chicken or turkey breast might better meet household needs, analysts said.

Eric Scholer, analyst with EMI Analytics in Ft. Wayne, Ind., said prices for boneless/skinless chicken breasts dipped slightly in recent weeks compared with a month ago. He expects prices to be generally stable through the middle of April then begin to move up a bit in the second half of the month. Seasonal buying interest will come into play.

Wholesale prices for chicken breasts currently are well below the year-ago quotes, according to the USDA's northeast price reports. The quote on Wednesday for truck-load quantities on a delivered basis was US$1.45 a pound, compared with US$1.60 to US$1.65 a year ago.

Broiler exports, mainly leg-quarters, remain strong, analysts said. China and Russia continue to purchase large quantities, and the cheap US dollar is contributing to the large sales.

Scholer said sales to China have helped stabilize the leg-quarter market, which historically depended heavily upon the Russian market.

The leg-quarter market has been basically flat for several weeks, he said. USDA on Wednesday quoted leg-quarters into the northwest region at 43 to 44 cents per pound, up slightly from year-ago prices of 41 to 42 cents.

The average price of the four cuts of chicken in the Dow Jones Newswires survey was US$1.45 a pound, compared with US$1.46 a week ago and US$1.55 last year.