Poultry International

The Australian meat chicken industry’s production has been growing at a steady rate of above 4 percent per annum for the past 20 years. The projection both by the Australian government and the industry suggests a similar growth rate for the next three years.

Gary Sansom, president of the
Australian Chicken Meat Federation,
notes that the main factors influencing
future demand are favorable to the
poultry industry, which is clearly
the most efficient user of feed of
all land based livestock making
it the most environmentally
friendly source of meat protein.

Gary Sansom notes that the main issues facing the industry are feed costs and consumer perceptions.

production and consumption is
forecast for the Australian chicken
industry over the short- and
medium-term, and this is partly
due to anticipated price rises for
red meat. Over the same period,
prices for chicken meat are expected
to be contained by productivity
improvements and the anticipated
easing of feed prices, allowing
chicken to retain its position as the
most affordable and popular meat.

The industry forecasts that chicken meat consumption will rise to 46 kg per capita by 2015-2016 and that there will be little change in the volumes of meat currently imported or exported. □