Spain’s turkey production bolsters poultry sector in 2017

Growing demand for turkey meat in Spain in 2017 offset some of the difficulties experienced by the Spanish chicken industry.

Clements 90x90 Headshot Headshot
Turkey meat is slowly capturing market share from broiler and other poultry meats meat in Spain. | WATT Global Media
Turkey meat is slowly capturing market share from broiler and other poultry meats meat in Spain. | WATT Global Media

The increasing popularity of turkey meat in Spain is thought to have made a significant contribution to the poultry sector’s higher output last year.

Provisional data published by the country’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and the Environment (MAPAMA) reveal that 2017 saw a slight increase in the total volume of poultry meat produced, 1.5 million tons, 1.17 percent up on 2016, while the number of birds slaughtered actually declined by 0.42 percent to 760,611 head.

This increase in tonnage, but decline in head slaughtered, MAPAMA attributes to the greater number of turkeys and other large birds slaughtered.

The broiler sector sent 659 million birds to slaughter last year, 0.5 percent fewer than in 2016, while the turkey sector slaughtered 24.6 million birds, an increase of more than 15 percent.

This resulted in 1.26 million tons of broiler meat, a contraction of just over 1 percent compared with the year before, while for the turkey sector 219,958 tons of meat were produced, an increase of 17 percent.

More farms to meet demand

The Spanish poultry industry has witnessed gradual expansion over the past decade and, until recently, benefited from only slow growth in poultry meat imports and big gains in exports.

This improving position has translated into a growing number of farms producing poultry meat and, as of January this year, the number of poultry farms in the country stood at 18,473, or 5.86 percent higher than in January 2016.

While the number of farms may have grown by over one-third over last decade, it is in turkey and more minor species where growth has been strongest.

Chicken meat continues to strongly dominate the sector, accounting for more than 80 percent of total output but, while the number of broiler farms rose by 0.8, it was in turkey production where expansion was strongest last year. 2017 saw 200 new turkey farms established in the country, an increase of 13 percent.

Broiler and layer farms now account for only 40 percent of the poultry farms operating in the country; a decade ago, they accounted for almost three-quarters of the total.

Broiler sector challenges

Despite the poultry sector’s continued expansion, unlike for turkey producers, last year was not easy for Spain’s broiler industry.

2017 was characterized by strong price variation, and an average producer price that was slightly below that achieved in 2016 and significantly lower than the average achieved by European counterparts.

From January to mid-April, prices contracted. This was followed by strong increases over the summer months, only to be followed by a decrease to below the average price recorded for 2016.

Among contributors to lower prices in Spain were a continuing return to red meat as an improving economy resulted in consumers spending more liberally, growth in imports and the loss the country’s key export market.

Since 2014, Spain has been exporting more poultry meat than it imports, but in 2017 this was reversed.

South Africa had been the country’s main export market and, in the wake of that country’s restrictions on European poultry imports, Spain was unable to find alternative markets to completely compensate for this loss of access.

Although increasing shipments to some overseas markets, over the course of 2017, the country’s main poultry meat exports declined by 7.67 percent, compared to 2016.

Changing consumption patterns

The total amount of poultry meat consumed in Spain last year was down by 2.6 percent, at 592,831 tons, with per capita consumption standing at 32.9 kg, down from 33.4 kg in 2016.

For the first six months of last year, turkey meat consumption in the country stood at 38,005 tons, up by 1.73 percent compared with the same period in 2016, and 3.89 percent higher than during the first six months of 2013, MAPAMA said.

This stands in contrast to consumption of chicken meat, which stood at 592,831, a decrease of just under 2.6 percent and continuing the downward trend witnessed since 2012.

Turkey Farm 2

Increasing demand for poultry meat in Spain saw the number of farms in the country producing turkeys increase by 13 percent last year. | shcherbak volodymyr, istock

 

Spain’s poultry meat production lower in 2013

www.WATTAgNet.com/articles/19479

Page 1 of 1576
Next Page