News

April poultry production declines 4% on year

The USDA says poultry production during April was 4.038 billion pounds. That’s down 4% on the year following declines in both processing and live weights. Most of the monthly total was chicken at 3.381 billion pounds, 3% lower, with turkey accounting for 253.843 million pounds, a drop of 11%.

The chicken slaughter was 746.295 million head and the turkey slaughter was 16.545 million head, decreases of 3% and 4%, respectively. All chickens averaged 6.4 pounds, .04 lighter, and turkeys averaged 31.69 pounds, a loss of 1.89.

Year-to-date poultry production is 16.751 billion pounds, 1% ahead of the year ago pace.

The USDA’s most recent cold storage report showed a slight year-to-year increase in supply, mainly due to slower demand for chicken.