Poultry & Egg Production Industry Profile

Companies in this industry breed, hatch, and raise poultry for meat or egg production. Major companies include Perdue Farms, Foster Farms, and Tyson (all based in the US) as well as JBS and BRF (Brazil), Charoen Pokphand Foods (Thailand), Guangdong Wen's Food Group and New Hope Group (China), and Industrias Bachoco (Mexico).

Worldwide poultry and egg production, including chicken, goose, duck, and other fowl, generates about $550 in annual revenue. Some 25 billion live chickens are produced worldwide each year, with highest production in China, the US, and Indonesia. Demand is growing due to an increasing population, higher incomes, and urbanization.

The US poultry and egg production industry includes about 140,000 farms with combined annual revenue of about $47 billion.

The industry doesn't include slaughter, processing, or packing operations. Poultry processing is covered in the Poultry Product Manufacturing profile.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand is driven by food prices and consumption trends. The profitability of individual farms depends on efficient operations and anticipating market demand. Large companies have advantages in vertically integrated operations and economies of scale. Small operations can compete effectively by specializing in certain breeds, supplying local markets, or raising humanely treated or hormone-free animals. The US industry is concentrated: the top 14% of companies account for about 75% of revenue.

Because of the products' perishability, international trade in live poultry and eggs is limited. US exports of live poultry and eggs mainly go ...