Brazil and the U.S. are the largest exporters of broiler meat, accounting for about three-quarters of global exports during 2006–2011, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's latest international report.
Between 2006 and 2011, Brazil was the world’s third-largest producer of broiler meat (measured in metric tons), accounting for 15 percent of global production. The U.S. and China respectively accounted for 22 percent and 16 percent of global production during this period. Brazilian production grew 38 percent between 2006 and 2011 in response to strong demand attributable to rising domestic per-capita income, the competitive price of broiler meat compared to beef, higher demand from food service industry for frozen/precooked chicken products, and greater demand for Brazilian poultry by China and Hong Kong.
Brazil is the world’s largest exporter of broiler meat; in 2011, 25 percent of its production was exported, compared with 18 percent in the U.S., according to the USDA. Brazilian exports are highly concentrated in the Middle East and Asia. For the most part, Brazil and the U.S. have different customers and the top five markets for each country (except for Hong Kong) do not overlap. This is because Brazilian poultry is produced and packaged with specific customers in mind, while the U.S. tends to offer undifferentiated, bulk poultry products. Brazil’s willingness to differentiate its exports by offering a wide range of poultry products for different importing countries has helped Brazil gain market share in a number of third-country markets.
