July 23, 2026

 

Shandong's chicken meat output surpasses pork as broiler industry leads China

 

A report recently released by the Shandong Provincial Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine shows that in 2025, the province marketed 2.987 billion broiler chickens, producing 3.972 million tonnes of chicken meat, surpassing its pork production of 3.776 million tonnes.

 

In 2025, Shandong's broiler industry demonstrated strong momentum, with every key indicator ranking among the highest in China. The province marketed a total of 2.987 billion broiler chickens, while chicken meat production reached 3.972 million tonnes.

 

Nationally, Shandong accounted for 37% of all broiler chickens marketed and 42.7% of total broiler slaughter, firmly retaining its position as China's leading province for both broiler farming and processing.

 

Among China's three largest broiler-producing provinces, Shandong maintained a commanding lead. Liaoning and Fujian ranked second and third respectively, but both remained considerably smaller in scale.

 

In terms of slaughter volumes, Liaoning processed approximately 2.121 billion white-feathered broilers in 2025, representing 22.82% of the national total, while Fujian slaughtered 635 million birds, accounting for 6.83%. Combined, Shandong, Liaoning and Fujian represented more than 72% of China's white-feathered broiler market, with Shandong alone accounting for nearly half of the total.

 

Shandong's broiler slaughter volumes have continued to rise steadily in recent years.

 

In 2024, the province processed approximately 3.616 billion white-feathered broilers. By 2025, this had increased to 3.943 billion birds, representing year-on-year growth of 9.85%.

 

Notably, the province's slaughter volume of 3.943 billion birds significantly exceeded its own broiler marketings of 2.987 billion birds.

 

The primary reason for this apparent discrepancy is large-scale inflows of live birds from other provinces and the province's strong processing "pull effect". As China's largest white-feathered broiler processing hub, Shandong not only processes birds raised locally but also attracts substantial numbers of live broilers from neighbouring provinces and other parts of the country.

 

Shandong's position as China's leading chicken-producing province stems from its strong competitive advantages across both the upstream supply chain and downstream processing sector.

 

In 2025, Shandong exported 646,000 tonnes of livestock and poultry products worth ¥11.76 billion (US$1.73 billion), representing year-on-year increases of 48.4% and 28.9%, respectively.

 

Chicken meat accounted for the overwhelming majority of these exports, with outbound shipments reaching 532,000 tonnes—equivalent to 49.0% of China's total chicken exports of 1.0849 million tonnes.

 

Shandong's export footprint continues to expand, with products shipped to numerous countries and regions worldwide.

 

Major export markets include Japan, the European Union, South Korea, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Russia.

 

- EFL AG-DATA