Changes in poultry production and trade worldwide

Abstract

Global poultry meat and egg production as well as trade with poultry products have shown a remarkable dynamic during the last 35 years. Between 1970 and 2005 poultry meat and egg production increased faster than that of beef and veal or pigmeat. The trade volume of poultry meat increased even faster than production. In 2004, 12% of the poultry meat produced reached the world market but only 1.8% of the eggs. The rapid increase in poultry meat production has been very imbalanced. Whereas North and Central America as well as Europe lost market shares, China and Brazil became new centres of production in Asia and South America. In hen egg production Asia was the only winner in the analysed time period, all other continents lost market shares. The increase in regional concentration is mainly due to the dominating role of China. Developing countries surpassed developed countries in their production volume between 1990 and 2000. At the present time, they contribute about 55% to global poultry meat and 68% to egg production.The trade volume of poultry products increased parallel to the rapid growth of global poultry meat and egg production. The regional concentration of poultry meat as well as egg exports and imports is very high. In contrast to production, the contribution of developing countries to the export volume of poultry products is still much lower than that of developed countries. Even though developing countries were able to gain higher market shares during the past 35 years, the regional shift from developed to developing countries has been less dramatic than that in poultry meat and hen egg production. Especially hen eggs are still mainly traded between European as well as Asian countries.Outbreaks of Avian Influenza will have impacts on production and consumption, resulting in serious financial problems of major producers and new spatial patterns of production and trade flows. The full implementation of directive 1999/74/EU for laying hens will also have impacts on egg production and egg trade, as the EU will probably no longer be an egg surplus region but be forced to import.