Which companies produce Latin America’s turkey meat?

With a combined output of over 25 million turkeys a year each, five companies dominate Latin America’s turkey meat production.

While the turkey may hail from the Americas, the popularity of its meat in Latin America is yet to reach that in the U.S. Nevertheless, the region is home to several significant producers either meeting local demand -  mainly seasonal - or supplying overseas markets.

In 2019, the region produced over 28.2 million turkeys, with Brazil being the largest producer, according to research by Poultry International’s sister publication Industria Avícola. Following in Brazil’s footsteps, Chile is the second-largest producer, followed by Peru in third place.

Approximately a dozen large companies supply most of the region’s turkey meat, but only five slaughter over 1 million turkeys annually.

1. BRF -Brazil

Better known as being the world’s third-largest chicken producer, BRF also slaughtered 7 million turkeys in 2019 making it the largest turkey producer in Latin America. While the company may have retained the top spot in Industria Avícola’s rankings, its turkey output was significantly lower last year, falling by more than 70%.

The company cites several factors for this decline. Higher input costs and difficulties associated with the local truck drivers strike made some of its operations less profitable. This, combined with the loss of European Union approval to export from certain plants and anti-dumping tariffs imposed by China, resulted in the company closing a number of its turkey operations.

2. Seara – Brazil

Processing 6 million turkeys in 2019, Brazil’s Seara, a subsidiary of JBS, the world’s largest chicken producer, saw turkey output remain relatively stable last year compared to 2018. 

3. San Fernando – Peru

The Peruvian company San Fernando occupies the third position in Industria Avícola’s ranking of the region’s turkey producers. Slaughtering 4.5 million birds in 2019, output was 12.5% higher than in 2018. In addition to being the region’s third-largest turkey producer, San Farnando is Peru’s leading chicken and second-largest egg producer, ranking fourth amongst Latin America’s chicken producers.

4. Sopraval – Chile

In fourth place comes Chile’s Sopraval, which is part of Agrosuper, the largest chicken producer in the country. Data gathered at the start of this year suggest that, at 4.3 million head, output at Sopraval was significantly lower. Contributors to this decline were avian influenza outbreaks leading to the culling of flocks and loss of export markets.

5. Agrícola Aríztia – Chile

A Chilean company also takes the fifth position in the latest ranking. Agrícola Aríztia, Chile’s second-largest chicken company, slaughtered 1.5 million turkeys last year, a similar number to that processed in 2018.

 

Approximately half of Latin America’s turkey production is concentrated in Brazil. WATT Global Media