The United States, China and Brazil were the largest chicken producers (primary production) in the world in 2022, according to data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Topping all, the United States produced 21 million 005,000 tons, followed by China (14 million 300,000 tons) and Brazil (14 million 250,000 tons).
Other leading producers were the European Union, Russia, Mexico, Thailand, Argentina, Turkey, Colombia and the United Kingdom.
Notably, Brazil was the world’s leading poultry exporter in 2022, according to USDA estimates.
Brazil’s poultry production, consumption and export volumes have increased significantly in recent years.
BRF, one of the largest producers of fresh and frozen protein foods in the world in terms of production capacity, according to WattAgNet, highlighted that this growth has been driven by the increased production of Brazilian companies dedicated to export, as well as the competitiveness of Brazilian poultry.
Despite the USDA’s indication of a reduction in Brazilian poultry production for 2022 compared to 2021, data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) indicate a 2% increase for 2022 compared to 2021.
Chicken producers
According to the USDA, world poultry trade increased 2% in 2022 compared to 2021, mainly due to increased exports from Brazil (up 5% compared to 2021), and Thailand (up 14% compared to 2021).
According to the Brazilian Animal Protein Association (Associação Brasileira de Proteína Animal, or ABPA), poultry parts exports increased 6% in 2022 compared to 2021, accounting for 69% of total poultry volumes exported.
Whole chicken, which accounted for 21% of total volumes, decreased 2% in 2022 compared to 2021.
The main destinations in 2022 were China, Japan, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
Compared to 2021, in 2022 Saudi Arabia decreased total imports from Brazil by 4%, China decreased total imports from Brazil by 16%, Japan decreased total imports from Brazil by 6% and United Arab Emirates decreased total imports from Brazil by 14%.
BRF S.A. is one of the largest producers of fresh and frozen protein foods in the world in terms of production capacity, according to WattAgNet, with a portfolio of approximately 5,500 stock keeping units («SKUs»), as of December 31, 2022.
