USA: Week 24 Broiler Market Review 2023

Average prices for chicken cuttings showed negative dynamics against the backdrop of lower prices for all positions except chicken legs.

When inflation pushed up the price of eggs this year , some consumers took matters into their own hands and started raising chickens. According to a FORBES article , Tractor Supply, America's largest seller of live poultry, could break the all-time record set in 2020 when the company sold 11 million birds.

Tractor Supply has experienced significant growth in live bird sales, with a 60% increase in sales in this category over the past five years, with 50 million birds sold in that time. Demand was fueled by factors such as inflation, rising egg prices and the migration of people from big cities. Good laying hens can produce 250-300 eggs per year, making them an attractive alternative for those looking to avoid high egg prices.

Millennials who have moved out of big cities during the pandemic are some of Tractor Supply's best new customers, often investing in hobbies like raising chickens and gardening. Usually people start with 4-6 birds, but the average customer ends up with about 14.

Although the income from the sale of chickens may be negligible, Tractor Supply generates additional income from related purchases such as brooders, food and water dispensers , feed and chicken coops, making the poultry business a large part of its activities.

Price dynamics and sales volumes of broilers

Average weighted price for broilers by region

Region

Weighted average price, cents/pound

Sales volume (thousand pounds)

Week 23

Week 24

Growth per week,%

Week 23

Week 24

Growth per week,%

Oriental

142.84

136.35

-4.5%

4434

4504

1.6%

Central

138.64

132.36

-4.5%

3 114

3335

7.1%

West

147.49

143.03

-3.0%

2990

2970

-0.7%

Dynamics of prices for chicken cutting

Weekly reviews are available free of charge as part of a subscription to the monthly analytics of the Russian MEAT markets.