The United States, China and Brazil ranked as the largest chicken producers in the world in 2020, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Ahead of all, the United States produced 20 million 239,000 tons, followed by China (14.6 million), Brazil (13.9 million), the European Union (12.2 million) and Russia (4.7 million).

In particular, chicken production in the United States represents a 1.5% increase over the 19.9 million tons produced in 2019, with per capita consumption among the highest in the world, per year, estimated at 43.7 kilograms.

The United States chicken industry is substantially consolidated and vertically integrated.

Also, most chicken producers use state-of-the-art technology in their processes.

According to the Mexican company Industrias Bachoco, it is estimated that the three main chicken producers represent 53.3% of the total chicken production in the United States.

Other major chicken producers in the world were India, Mexico, Thailand, Turkey, Argentina and Malaysia.

Chicken producers and the US market

Another feature of the chicken industry in the United States is the use of contract farmers, with approximately 95% of the chicken produced by contract farmers.

This production consists of providing chickens with balanced feed, vaccines, medicines and the necessary training for raising chickens.

With this, the breeder supplies its facilities and the necessary labor for the chickens to reach the weight ready for slaughter.

The contract grower is then paid based on the productivity and efficiency of his flock.

Meanwhile, Brazil and the United States are the main chicken exporters worldwide, and their main destinations are Mexico, China, Russia and the Middle East, among other countries.

According to the USDA, global poultry trade increased 1.0% in 2020 compared to 2019, primarily due to higher exports from the United States.