2016 was a mixed year for Latin American poultry and egg production and the companies operating there. Some countries saw production and consumption fall but exports rise, while others produced less but consumed more. For the individual producers, some major players held their ground, while others saw their fortunes decline.
Mixed markets
A look at the four countries with the biggest poultry industries demonstrates the uneven performance that typifies 2016.
Brazil, the region’s largest producer of chicken meat, saw total output fall by 1.8 percent last year, according to figures from the Brazilian Animal Protein Association (ABPA), but the country’s exports rose by 1.9 percent.
A more positive performance was recorded farther north, however, and Mexico saw its poultry meat output rise by 3.4 percent in 2016, according to Mexican Poultry Producers Association (UNA), while Mexican egg production was 5.3 percent higher.
Colombia saw its chicken meat production rise by 3.8 percent, while its egg production rose by 5.6 percent, but Argentina witnessed a contraction in its poultry production of 20 percent.
Looking beyond the region’s big four poultry-producing nations, varying performances were also seen.
In positive territory was Peru, which continued to achieve the 5-6 percent expansion that has typified the industry’s performance over the past five years.
However, for Venezuela, the story was very different. Definite figures are hard to come by, but the Venezuelan poultry industry is thought to have contracted by 30-40 percent, reversing the achievements of recent decades.
Brazil slaughters more broilers each year than the next nine largest poultry-producing countries combined. | WATT Global Media
Key poultry companies
Latin American poultry production continues to be dominated by Brazil, which is home to the two largest producers in the region, and boasts four of the region’s 10 largest poultry companies. BRF, Seara, Aurora and Copacol all make highly significant contributions to the region’s chicken production.
But the country cannot claim all the top spots, and the Mexican poultry companies, Industrias Bachoco and Pilgrim’s Pride de Mexico, took the third and fourth position, respectively, in 2016. Colombia’s Avidesa and Chile’s Super Pollo are now also thought to be among the region’s 10 largest producers, but Venezuela’s Protinal has fallen out of the top 10.
Where egg production is concerned, Mexico continues to dominate the top 10 of Latin America’s egg producers, as it is home to seven of the 10 largest egg companies in the region. The ranking is led by Proan. While the size of its layer flock has been stable, and its competitors may have grown over the past five years, the company still far outstrips its nearest competitors by flock size.
Detailed information, including historical performance, on Latin America’s major poultry producers can be found by following the above links. | WATT Global Media
Per capita consumption
Given the mixed fortunes of the poultry and egg industries across the region last year, levels of consumption were also mixed.
Traditionally high consumers of poultry meat compared with their neighbors, Brazil and Venezuela saw per capita poultry meat decline last year, by 4.5 percent and 19.2 percent, respectively.
But the news was not all bad on the consumption front. Colombia saw the amount of chicken consumed per person rise by 3.6 percent, Argentina recorded an increase of 4.4 percent, and Peru saw per capita poultry meat consumption rise by 4.25 percent last year.
Argentinians consumed more poultry per head than any other Latin Americans last year. Brazilians and Venezuelans, also high consumers of poultry, ate less. | WATT Global Media
To learn more about the major players in Latin America, visit the World’s Top Poultry Companies database:
www.WATTAgNET.com/directories/80.html
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