Brazil will continue to be the world’s largest chicken exporter for the next decade, according to USDA.

According to Agricultural Projections to 2031 report of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Brazil alone may undertake 32.5% of global poultry export growth over the next decade, with shipments rising 19.6% to 5.2 million tons by 2031.

According to the same report, US chicken exports could increase by 13.9% to 4.3 million tons the next decade. The EU is expected to grow poultry foreign trade by 15.9% to almost 2.9 million tons, while Thailand, favored by its geographical location, should increase by 31.7% to 1.4 million tons in the interim.

GLOBAL CONSUMPTION TO INCREASE BY 16.7%

As a whole, global chicken consumption will grow by 16.7% through 2031. Projected demand growth for all meats is highest among developing regions such as Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East.

The report shows that poultry meat has the highest growth in production and consumption compared to beef and pork. This is because poultry production has shown stronger growth in low and middle-income countries (20.8%) than in richer countries (8.5%).

Annual poultry meat imports might increase 2.6 million tons (20.3%), reaching 15.8 million tons in 2031. Larger growth will be concentrated at emerging markets in Asia, Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East. Russia, Ukraine, the European Union, Taiwan and Canada are projected to show a much slower pace of growth.

Poultry imports in Africa and the Middle East regions are expected to grow by 22.3% and 16.8%, respectively. By 2031, these regions combined will increase their poultry meat imports by 1 million tons.

In Mexico, despite production increasing, imports may rise faster. As a result, Mexico’s poultry meat imports will grow about 17.6% to nearly 1.3 million tons between 2023 and 2031. Poultry imports Central America and the Caribbean region could jump up 26.6% to 1.1 million tons by 2031.

CHINA A MAJOR POULTRY IMPORTER

The USDA points out that China is going to be a major importer of poultry, as consumption outpaces domestic production growth. China’s poultry imports will soar by 30.9%, reaching more than 1.2 million tons next decade.

With China’s poultry exports projected to reach a high of 23.4%, to 571 thousand tons, net imports increase 40% to 218,000 tons, according to the projections.