May 14, 2025

China's broiler boom: Rising output, falling profits

In 2024, China slaughtered 13,394 million broiler chickens, surpassing 2020 to set a new historical high.

Among them, the slaughter volume of white-feather broiler chickens reached 73.94 million, accounting for 55% of China's broiler market share.

Despite the record-high output, profits from white-feather broiler farming were disappointing. From 2023 to 2024, the annual return of white-feather broiler farming averaged ¥0.37 per kilogramme (US$0.05/kg) and ¥0.25/kg (US$0.03/kg), respectively, while in January-February 2025, farming returns dropped further to ¥1.02/kg (US$0.14/kg). This means that for more than two years, white-feather broiler farming in China has been mostly unprofitable.

White-feather broiler farms are operating at a loss due to high costs and weak broiler prices. With total broiler and white-feather broiler breeding volumes at record highs and imports of cheaper chicken products increasing, the price of China's white-feather broiler remains under pressure.

In 2024, China's production of white-feather broilers totaled 11.84 million tonnes, while imports stood at 0.98 million tonnes. Although imported chicken and chicken products account for less than 10% of the market share, they have contributed to the weakness of domestic chicken prices, including those of white-feather broilers.

Large-scale farming has become China's main mode of white-feather broiler farming. The integrated farming model (which controls the full industrial chain) and the company-farmer contract farming model (in which companies provide chicks, feed, and technology to contract farms and purchase their mature chickens) have become the dominant business models in the country.

According to the China Animal Husbandry Association, in 2023, integrated enterprises (which include both self-breeding and self-feeding operations, as well as full industrial chain models) accounted for approximately 60%-65% of white-feather broiler production, an increase of five percentage points from 2022 (when it was 55%-60%).

By 2024, the share of integrated farming is expected to reach 65%-70%. The annual production capacity growth of leading enterprises is projected to exceed 10%, while the exit rate of small and medium-sized independent farmers is likely to continue rising.

While broiler farming remains unprofitable, integrators compensate for these losses with profits from other sectors, as farming is no longer the core business of these companies.

EFL AG-DATA is a startup incubated by Singapore's Nanyang Technological University's Innovation and Enterprise Company (NTUitive) Incubator Program. It is developing an agricultural hub that will revolutionize the feed-to-meat supply chain in China and Southeast Asia countries through data-driven solutions. EFL's mission is to empower farms through innovative data-based services that solve complex problems and enhance productivity.

- EFL AG-DATA