Top world broiler, egg rankings for 2019

The same leading poultry companies hold the top spots again in the ranking of top broiler and egg rankings this year, but that does not mean the industry is not evolving.

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It’s World’s Top Poultry Companies time again: our annual look at the biggest chicken meat and egg producers around the world.

We’ve continued to follow a similar format to in the past with the way we present the data this year. So don’t forget that, in addition to the rankings provided here, there are links alongside each company’s entry to the full company profiles online. Within those profiles, you will find more extensive data, milestones and background information on these leading producers.

Leading broiler producers

This year, once again, JBS leads the ranking of broiler producers, head and shoulders above its nearest competitors.

JBS first took the top spot in our 2017 ranking, a position that had been held by the Tyson Foods of the U.S. for several years. Slaughtering 3.5 billion birds during the latest reporting period, JBS now stands well above second-place Tyson, reported to have slaughtered a little more than 2 billion birds, and slaughtering more than double the amount of No. 3 in the ranking, fellow Brazilian company BRF, which slaughtered a little more than 1.6 billion chickens.

Leaving the ascendency of JBS to one side, the upper reaches of the top broiler producers have remained relatively unchanged over recent years, but these companies have not stood still.

In 2012, we reported that the five leading producers slaughtered a little less than 7.6 billion chickens. In this, the most recent edition, that figure has risen to a little less than 9.3 billion – an increase of close to 20%. This increase is not expected to slow any time soon, either for these or other producers, despite local difficulties that some might have.

Globally, since the 1960s, poultry meat consumption has increased fivefold, and growth is expected to remain strong over the decades ahead, particularly in parts of Asia, the Middle East and Africa. This growth can be attributed to rising populations and incomes, meaning the outlook for poultry producers remains positive in the long term. But looking more short term, poultry producers are enjoying the boost in demand as a result of difficulties in the Chinese swine industry, and that country’s consumers switching to eating more chicken meat.

Despite the strongest increases in demand coming from developing countries, the top 50 rankings of the world’s poultry producers remains dominated by producers in developed countries – 40% are either in the U.S. or the European Union.

Perhaps reflecting the rising importance of the Asian market, while the number of Chinese companies in the top 50 has stayed the same this year, those toward the lower end of the ranking have moved slightly upward. As producers in developing markets grow, and the industry consolidates, more companies based in developing countries can be expected to enter the top 50.

The market and the companies that serve it are subject to constant change. Take, for example, a new entry in the top 50: Avara.

While the decision to create Avara was announced prior to the previous edition of World’s Top Poultry Companies, its creation came too late for inclusion. The company is a joint venture between Faccenda, previously ranked as Europe’s 26th largest producer and too small to be included in the top 50, and Cargill U.K.’s fresh poultry business. Avara now makes its appearance for the first time with 208 million head slaughtered annually and raked at No. 43 among the world’s 50 largest broiler businesses.

Leading egg producers

Among the leading egg producers, 11 of the largest 25 producers are in the U.S., with only one EU egg company making it on to the list.

Latin American companies again make a significant contribution but, where eggs are concerned, it is not Brazil, home to two of the leading companies in the lower reaches of the top 25, but Mexico. Five leading egg companies ranked by laying flock size can call Mexico -- the fifth largest egg producer in the world -- home, including the second largest egg producer in the world.

Notable by its absence in the top 25 is China. Despite producing more than four times the volume of eggs when compared with the U.S. -- the world’s second largest producer -- no Chinese companies are producing sufficient numbers of eggs to make it into the top 25. Similarly, no Indian companies make it into the top 25 despite the country being one of the largest egg-producing countries.

Yet, as with broiler meat, the outlook for egg producers is positive, with many of the factors leading to growing demand for chicken meat also leading to higher levels of egg consumption. When looking at which countries produce the most eggs, only four are deemed developed. This means there are countries with already significant egg output that we confidently expect to grow further still, and their companies moving up the ranking.

 

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