Poultry International

Chicken meat production
in Australia 1970-2011

800

1000 Chickens slaughtered (million birds) Chicken meat produced ( 1,000 tons carcass weight)

600

400

200

0

1970-71

1980-81

1990-91

2000-01

20010-11

Source: ABS (2011), and earlier
releases of the same catalogue
The percentage incase in chicken meat
produced over the same period is even
greater, due to market and product
range changes that have fuelled
demand for larger birds.

resulting in chicken becoming more central in the Australian diet. Over the last two decades, consumption has increased by 60 percent, while prices have decreased by 40 percent.

Processing

The number of chickens slaughtered in Australia has steadily increased and the percentage increase in chicken meat produced over the same period has been even greater due to the demand for particular products requiring larger birds at time of slaughter.

Some 69 percent of Australian chicken leaves the primary processing plant as either whole, filleted or in pieces and is not further processed. Some 40 percent of raw chicken meat goes to supermarkets, with wholesalers accounting for 19 percent. Sales to quick serve restaurants, the hospitality and food services industry, specialty poultry retailers, pet food manufacturers and butchers make up a further 39 percent.

Australia has witnessed a steady trend away from frozen chicken, with volumes of fresh chicken now outweighing frozen by ten to one. Consumers have also shown a growing preference for purchasing

Australian real retail price
(CPI adjusted) and per
capita consumption
of chicken 1987-2010

Index (1987/88=100)

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180

Consumption per captia Price/kg

1987/88 1989/90 1991/92 1993/94 1995/96 1997/98 1999/00 2001/02 2003/04 2005/06 2007/08 2009/10

Source: Derived from data presented in ABARES (2010), ABARES (2011a) and earlier versions of these reports Over the last two decades, consumption has increased by over 60 percent, while price has decreased by 40 percent.

chicken in pieces, ready to cook, although the sale of fresh whole chickens remains strong.

Approximately 31 percent of chicken meat goes to further processing. Most of the products from further processing go to supermarkets, 34 percent, and quick service restaurants, 33 percent. Products from further processing also go to hospitality and food service providers, 17 percent, wholesalers, 6 percent, specialty shops, 6 percent, and butchers, < 1 percent.

The number of people working in the industry is estimated to be approximately 40,000. In addition, a further 100,000 jobs are estimated to be directly dependent on the industry.

Trade

Australia has strict trade policies and biosecurity measures to ensure that the country and its poultry industries are protected from diseases that are not usually found in the country. Imports of chicken meat, other than from New Zealand or as canned or fully retorted products, were banned until 1998, and remain subject to stringent conditions, resulting in very limited imports of processed chicken meat and no imports of fresh chicken meat.

Nominal retail price of
meat in Australia 2000-2009

$/kg

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18

Beef
Lamb
Pork
Chicken

2000200120022003200420052006200720082009

Source: ABARES (2010)

The flat trend of chicken meat prices relative to the price of other meats is due to productivity gains and costs of production.

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This means that virtually all chicken meat eaten in Australia is grown in the country. Additionally, almost all chicken meat produced in Australia is consumed locally, with only a little under 5 percent being exported.

Imports

Chicken meat cannot be freely imported into Australia due to quarantine rules to protect local commercial poultry and native birds from disease, and consumers from certain food hazards. Quarantine conditions focus on nine diseases and pathogens of concern, and any chicken meat products from regions which are not free of all these diseases needs to be cooked to various extents depending on the disease in question in accordance with the relevant import protocol.