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Changes in poultry production and trade worldwide

Article in World’s Poultry Science Journal · December 2006

DOI: 10.1017/S0043933906001140

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054759_Journal_4 02-11-2006 08:36 Pagina 585

Changes in poultry production and trade

worldwide
H.-W. WINDHORST

Institute of Spatial Analysis and Planning in Areas of Intensive Agriculture (ISPA),

University of Vechta, 49377 Vechta, Germany
E-mail: [email protected]

Global poultry meat and egg production as well as trade with poultry products have
shown a remarkable dynamic during the last 35 years. Between 1970 and 2005
poultry meat and egg production increased faster than that of beef and veal or
pigmeat. The trade volume of poultry meat increased even faster than production. In
2004, 12% of the poultry meat produced reached the world market but only 1.8% of
the eggs. The rapid increase in poultry meat production has been very imbalanced.
Whereas North and Central America as well as Europe lost market shares, China
and Brazil became new centres of production in Asia and South America. In hen egg
production Asia was the only winner in the analysed time period, all other continents
lost market shares. The increase in regional concentration is mainly due to the
dominating role of China. Developing countries surpassed developed countries in
their production volume between 1990 and 2000. At the present time, they contribute
about 55% to global poultry meat and 68% to egg production.
The trade volume of poultry products increased parallel to the rapid growth of global
poultry meat and egg production. The regional concentration of poultry meat as well
as egg exports and imports is very high. In contrast to production, the contribution
of developing countries to the export volume of poultry products is still much lower
than that of developed countries. Even though developing countries were able to gain
higher market shares during the past 35 years, the regional shift from developed to
developing countries has been less dramatic than that in poultry meat and hen egg
production. Especially hen eggs are still mainly traded between European as well as
Asian countries.
Outbreaks of Avian Influenza will have impacts on production and consumption,
resulting in serious financial problems of major producers and new spatial patterns
of production and trade flows. The full implementation of directive 1999/74/EU for
laying hens will also have impacts on egg production and egg trade, as the EU will
probably no longer be an egg surplus region but be forced to import.

Keywords: poultry meat production; egg production; poultry meat trade; egg trade;
regional shift
054759_Journal_4 02-11-2006 08:36 Pagina 586

Introduction: The setting

Global poultry meat and egg production as well as trade with poultry products have shown
a remarkable dynamic during the last 35 years. Between 1970 and 2005 poultry meat and
egg production increased faster than beef and veal or pigmeat production (Table 1). This
is especially true for poultry meat. In 1970, poultry meat reached only a production
volume of 15.1 M. t whereas 38.3 M. t of pigmeat were produced worldwide. In 1995
poultry meat surpassed beef and veal production, in 2005, the production volume of
poultry meat was about 21 M. t higher. A comparison with pigmeat shows that for both
meat types an increase of about 65 M. t could be realised. The gap in the production
volume is still about 20 M. t, smaller, however, than in the late 1980s when it was as large
as 28. M. t. Hen egg production more than tripled in the analysed time period and within
a few years the production volume will be higher than that of beef and veal if the growth
rates remain fairly constant.
The trade volume of poultry meat increased much faster than production as can be seen
from the data in Table 2. In 1970, only 521,000 t of poultry meat were exported
worldwide, the volume increased to 9.7 M. t in 2004. Whereas in 1970 only 3.5% of the
produced poultry meat reached the world market, the share was 12% in 2004. This
development has no parallel in trade with shell eggs. Here, the trade volume only
increased from 0.4 M. t to 1.4 M. t in the same time period. The share of exported hen eggs
even decreased from a peak of 2.8% in 1980 to 1.8% in 2004.
The main objectives of this study are:
• To give an overview about the time-spatial dynamic of poultry production and trade
with poultry products,
• To analyse the specific dynamic in developed and developing countries,
• To identify the centres of production and the leading exporting and importing
countries of poultry products,
• To discuss what impacts the outbreaks of Avian Influenza and the EU Directive for
keeping laying hens may have on poultry meat and egg production.

The time-spatial dynamic of poultry production in developed and

developing countries
The analysis will be carried out in several steps. In a first step, the development of poultry
meat and hen egg production will be analysed from a time-spatial point of view for
developed and developing countries. Based on these results, a second step will make it
possible to identify growth centres and regions which have not been able to keep up with
their dynamic.
A comparison of the data in Tables 3 and 4 reveals that poultry meat production
increased much faster between 1970 and 2005 than egg production. This is true for
developed as well as for developing countries. Because of the rapid increase of the
production volume, developing countries surpassed developed countries in the 1990s. In
2005, developing countries contributed 54.7% to global poultry meat production and
67.7% to egg production. This statement is too general, however, to identify growth
centres and regional shifts.

The time-spatial dynamic of poultry meat production

The data in Table 5 show that the growth of poultry meat production has been very
054759_Journal_4 02-11-2006 08:36 Pagina 587

imbalanced. North and Central America as well as Europe lost market shares in the
analysed time period, Asia and South America could increase their contribution to global
production considerably. In 1970, North and Central America, Europe, and the USSR had
a share of more than 71% of the global production volume, Asia and South America of less
than 24%. In 2005, the latter contributed almost 50% to global poultry meat production.
The highest absolute growth rate can be observed in Asia with an increase of almost 25 M.
t between 1970 and 2005, followed by South America with 12 M. t. The highest relative
growth rate shows South America. Quite obviously, the centre of poultry meat production
shifted from North and Central America to South and East Asia, and within a few years,
the production volume in South America will surpass that of Europe.
A comparison of the ten leading countries in poultry meat production in 1970 and 2005
(Table 6) further documents the regional shift. In 1970, only two of the ten leading
countries were developing countries, and two, China and Japan, were located in Asia. With
a share of almost 31%, the USA dominated this branch of poultry production. In 2005, five
of the ten leading countries were developing countries and four were located in Asia. The
United States were still in the top position with a share of 22.9%, but China and Brazil
now ranked as number two and three. The regional concentration slightly decreased from
68.4% to 66.3%, a result of the growing importance of poultry meat production in an
increasing number of countries.
In order to better understand the changing spatial pattern of poultry meat production, a
short analysis of the changing contribution of the various poultry meat types to total poultry
meat production will be necessary. From the data in Table 7 one can see that chicken meat
reached the highest share with 88.3% in the mid 1980s, after that it decreased to about 86%
and has remained fairly stable since then. In 1990, turkey meat reached its peak with 9.0%,
from then on it has continuously decreased and only contributed 6.4% in 2005. It is worth
mentioning that from the mid 1980s on the share of duck and goose meat has considerably
increased from 3.8% to 7.1%. Most of the duck and goose meat is produced in developing
countries. In 2005 they contributed 86% to duck meat and 96% to goose meat production.
China was in an absolutely dominating position, as this country alone contributed 68% to
global duck meat and 93% to global goose meat production.
In contrast to duck, goose, and chicken meat, where developing countries are
contributing the majority to the global production volume, developed countries are still
dominating turkey meat production (Table 8). Even though high relative growth rates in
developing countries can be observed since the mid 1990s, the share of developing
countries was still less than 10% in 2005.
A more detailed analysis on the basis of the ten leading countries reveals (Table 9) that
the USA dominated turkey meat production with a share of 64.1% in 1970, followed by
Canada. Mexico was the only developing country which was ranked among the top ten
producing countries. In 2005, the USA were still in a leading position, however, several
other countries could gain higher market shares, in particular France and Germany. Brazil
and Chile, which were not to be found among the leading countries in 1970, ranked as
number 6 and 10. These two countries alone contributed about two thirds to the production
volume of all developing countries. It is worth mentioning that Asian countries do not yet
play a major role in turkey meat production. This is mainly due to the fact that the
consumption of turkey meat does not have a tradition in South and East Asia, not even in
restaurants with international menus in the metropolitan areas. Because of the low demand
no major breeding company has so far invested in turkey hatcheries or distribution centres
for turkey chickens. In addition to that no experience has been developed for turkey
growing and there is no infrastructure available, neither for consulting nor for processing
and marketing. The reasons for the still dominating role of developed countries in North
America and Europe are on the one hand the long tradition of poultry meat consumption

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in North America and on the other the impacts of the BSE crisis on meat consumption in
Europe. Nevertheless, turkey meat consumption has quite obviously reached a plateau in
several developed countries. The result is a stagnating or even decreasing production
volume (c.f. Windhorst 2005).

The time-spatial dynamic of hen egg production

In a third step, the time-spatial dynamic of global egg production will be analysed. Here,
too, the changing contribution of developed and developing countries as well as the
regional shift between 1970 and 2005 will be investigated. It could be shown (c.f. Table 4)
that in the first half of the 1990s developing countries surpassed developed countries in
their production volume and that they are presently contributing more than two thirds to
global production.
Table 10 shows that in egg production, too, the growth has been very imbalanced. The
only winning continent was Asia, whereas Europe and North and Central America lost
considerable amounts of their former market share. In 1970, Europe was still the leading
continent in egg production but lost this position in the early 1980s. In 2005, Asia
contributed over 60% to the global production volume, the share of Europe fell to 16.8%
and that of North and Central America to 13.6%. South American countries, which had
been able to gain higher market shares until 1990, have not been able to hold their position
in spite of an almost continuous growth of the production volume.
A comparison of the ten leading countries in egg production in 1970 and 2005 reveals
that the regional concentration is higher than in poultry meat production (Table 11). In
2005, the ten leading countries contributed 72.4% to global egg production. Whereas in
1970 six European countries were to be found in leading positions, only one was left in
2005, France. The five positions are now occupied by India, Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia,
and Turkey. It is worth mentioning that in 2005 almost half of the global egg production
was located in China, India, and Japan. In 1970, only one of the ten leading countries,
China, was a developing country, in 2005, already six of the top ranked countries were
developing countries according to the classification of the FAO. Four of them were located
in Asia and two in Latin America. This further documents the regional shift of egg
production from Europe to South and East Asia.
The main results of the first three steps of the analysis can be summarised as follows:
• Poultry production has shown a remarkable dynamic between 1970 and 2005, this is
true for poultry meat as well as for eggs.
• Developing countries surpassed developed countries in their production volume
between 1990 and 2000. At the present time they contribute about 55% to global
poultry meat and 68% to egg production.
• The rapid increase of the production volume has been very imbalanced. Whereas
North and Central America as well as Europe lost market shares, China and Brazil
became new centres of production in Asia and South America.
• In contrast to chicken, duck, and goose meat, where developing countries produce
most of the meat, turkey meat production is still dominated by a small number of
developed countries. A stagnating or even decreasing per capita consumption in
several developed countries resulted, however, in a levelling out or even decreasing
production volume.
• In hen egg production, Asia was the only winner in the analysed time period, all other
continents lost market shares. The increase in regional concentration is mainly due to
the dominating role of China which contributed over 41% to global egg production in
2005.

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• The dramatic regional shift in egg production is documented by the fact that in 2005
only one of the top ten egg producing countries was located in Europe, in 1970, it had
been six. In contrast, only two of the ten leading egg producing countries were located
in Asia in 1970, in 2005, there were five. Only three of them, China, India, and Japan,
contributed almost 50% to global egg production.

Changing patterns of poultry meat exports and imports

The second part of this analysis will deal with the changing regional pattern of poultry
meat and hen egg trade over time. It will be carried out separately for meat and eggs.
Table 12 shows on the one hand the dramatic growth of poultry meat exports and on the
other that the contribution of developing countries to global poultry meat exports
increased from only 2.9% in 1970 to 37.8% in 2004. The highest absolute and relative
growth rates can be observed during the last decade. The export volume of developing
countries increased from 1.4 M. t to 3.7 M. t. or by 166% between 1995 and 2004. In the
same time period, developed countries could only increase their exports from 4.4 M. t to
6.0 M. t or by 38%. It will be of interest to see which developing countries have become
major poultry meat exporters.
A closer examination of the changing contribution of the various poultry meat types to
global exports reveals that chicken meat had a share of over 92% of global poultry meat
exports in 1970, it decreased to 75.4% in 2004 (Table 13). Turkey meat, which had been
able to gain market shares until 2000, was not able to hold the position attained. Instead,
value-added canned and further processed products could continuously increase their
contribution to the total export volume.
It could be shown (c.f. Table 12) that the export volume of poultry meat increased from
0.5 to 9.7 M. t between 1970 and 2004. This growth was very imbalanced as can be seen
from the data in Table 14. In 1970, Europe dominated global poultry meat exports with a
share of almost 84%, followed by North and Central America. It is remarkable that in the
following decades Europe lost its former dominating position. In 2004, European
countries were still in a leading position but were closely followed by the Americas. In
contrast to production, Asian countries are only playing a minor role in poultry meat
exports. These statements are too general, however. A closer look at the leading exporting
countries will make it possible to identify the winners and losers.
In 1970, The Netherlands was the leading poultry meat exporting country with a share
of almost 39% of the global export volume, followed by the USA and Hungary (Table 15).
It is worth mentioning that in 1970 eight of the ten leading countries were located in
Europe, four of them were EC member states and three belonged to the former
COMECON. In 2004, the regional concentration of poultry meat exports was still very
high, for almost 87% of the export volume was contributed by the ten leading countries.
The composition of the ten top ranked countries was, however, quite different from that in
1970. The USA and Brazil were ranked as number one and two with an almost identical
export volume. Together they had a market share of 54.4%. It is remarkable that Brazil,
which was not to be found among the top ten countries in 1970, ranked as number 2. In
2005, Brazil even surpassed the USA. Six of the ten leading countries were EU member
states with the Netherlands in third place. Thailand, which was also not ranked among the
top exporting countries in 1970, ranked as number five with an export volume of 597,163t
in 2003 and it was only because of the outbreak of Avian Influenza that its exports
decreased to 319,336 t in 2004. The data show the growing importance of North and South
American countries in poultry meat exports. The spatial pattern in the Americas is very
different from that in Europe. Whereas a more or less monocentric spatial pattern with one

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dominating country in North as well as in South America can be observed, Europe has
developed a more polycentric pattern.
In a next step, the time-spatial development of poultry meat imports will be analysed.
Table 16 shows that in contrast to the development of poultry meat exports, where a
continuous increase of the share of developing countries could be observed, the import
share fluctuated considerably. A first peak was reached in the early 1980s, when
developing countries, because of a growth of per capita consumption, imported 50% and
more of the poultry meat that reached the world market. In the following years, developed
countries showed higher growth rates, but a second short peak was reached in the late
1990s. From then on, most of the traded poultry meat was imported by developed
countries. This is mainly due to the fast increase of the production volume in developing
countries which was better able to meet the increasing demand than in the 1980s
(c.f. Tables 3 and 6).
A closer look at the development on the basis of continents (Table 17) reveals that in 1970
most of the poultry meat was imported by European countries. From the early 1980s on,
Asia reached higher market shares, then, however, Europe became the leading importing
continent again. This is a very general statement, however, so that a more detailed analysis
on the basis of single countries will be necessary to specify the regional shifts.
From the data in Table 18 one can see that Germany was the leading importing country
in 1970. Almost 50% of all poultry meat that reached the world market was imported by
this country, and the Netherlands were the main supplier. Four of the top ten ranked
importing countries were located in Asia and one in Central America. In 2004, the
situation had changed completely. Russia was the leading importing country with a share
of 12.6%, followed by China and Japan. Germany was in fifth place with a share of 6.3%
of the global import volume. The regional concentration of imports decreased from 74.1%
to only 62.6% in the analysed time period. This shows that poultry meat has become an
attractive and affordable meal in many more countries. This is also documented by a more
even distribution of the imports.

Changing patterns of hen egg exports and imports

In contrast to poultry meat, where 12.0% of the production volume was exported in 2004,
only 1.8% of the produced hen eggs reached the world market. Due to the fact that it is
difficult to transport shell eggs over long distances, most of the eggs are traded within
comparatively small regions.
As can be seen from Table 19, egg exports increased from about 400,000 t in 1970 to
over 1 M. t in 2004. The share of developing countries fluctuated between 10.5% and
24.5%. This is mainly due to the fact that in some years the demand grew faster than the
production volume. The data in Table 20 reveal that in 1990 European countries
contributed almost 82% to the global export volume, from then on, it decreased to about
68% in 2004. In the same time period, egg exports of Asian as well as North and Central
American countries increased. A detailed analysis on the basis of single countries will
make it possible to identify countries which were able to gain and those which lost market
shares.
A closer look at the composition of the ten leading hen egg exporting countries in 1970
and 2004 reveals that the regional concentration has been very high over the whole time
period. In 1970, the Netherlands and Belgium alone contributed 41.5% to the global
export volume (Table 21). In that year, eight of the top ranked countries were located in
Europe, two in Asia. It is worth mentioning that four of the European countries belonged
to the former COMECON. In 2004, the Netherlands and Spain ranked as number one and

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two, together they contributed 35.4% to the global export volume, followed by China.
Several countries, which were not to be found in the top ranks in 1970, reached a leading
position in 2004. This is especially true for Spain, the USA, Malaysia, and India. The
composition of the top ranked countries further documents the dominating role which
Europe and Asia play in hen egg trade.
In spite of the increasing demand, the share of developing countries of global hen egg
imports has been fluctuating between 24% and 35% in the analysed time period
(Table 22). This documents on the one hand the increasing production volume in several
developing countries, on the other the fact that most of the consumed eggs stem from
domestic production.
A comparison of Tables 20 and 23 shows that egg trade is to a high degree a
phenomenon between European as well as Asian countries. Nevertheless, Africa has
become a more attractive market during the last decade. It is interesting that South
American countries are not playing a major role in egg trade so far. North and Central
American countries are trading eggs mostly between the three NAFTA members.
A more detailed analysis of the leading egg importing countries in 1970 and 2004
(Table 24) shows that the regional concentration decreased from almost 81% to 73%.
Quite obviously, an increasing number of countries imports shell eggs. Germany has been
the leading egg importing country over more than three decades. In 1970, almost one third
of all traded shell eggs were imported by this country. Even though the share decreased to
25.2% in 2004, Germany was still by far the largest importer. The import volume would
have grown to about 10 or 11 billion eggs from 2012 on if Germany had not altered the
national directive of October 2001 which would have banned conventional as well as
enriched cages (c.f. Windhorst 2004). With the change of administration in 2005, new
initiatives were started to develop a new directive and permit so called small aviaries. This
directive was passed by the Bundesrat in April 2006 and approved by the government in
May. Even though the regulations are stricter than those of the EU for enriched cages, the
industry is more optimistic about the future of German egg production. Nevertheless, the
regulations may have far reaching impacts on the number of laying hens as the directive
demands for example that the aviaries have to be at least 60 cm high and that the lower
aviary has to be 35 cm above ground. If one calculates that about 25 cm per layer are
needed for the installation of manure belts, then only two layers of aviaries can be installed
in existing hen houses which formerly held three to four of conventional cages. The
dominating role that European countries have been playing in egg trade is documented by
the fact that in 1970 and 2004 seven of the ten leading countries were located in this
continent. What impacts the full implementation of the German directive and of directive
1999/74/EU, which bans conventional cages from 2012 on and demands enriched cages in
new facilities from 2003 on, will have on egg trade is a still open question. It can, however,
be expected that the EU will at least from 2012 on no longer be an egg surplus region
(c.f. Windhorst 2001, Wollfram et al., 2002).
The main results of the second part of this analysis can be summarised as follows:
• The trade volume of poultry products increased parallel to the rapid growth of global
poultry meat and egg production.
• Whereas about 12% of the produced poultry meat reached the world market in 2004,
less than 2% of hen eggs were exported respectively imported. Most of the produced
eggs remained on domestic markets.
• The regional concentration of poultry meat exports is very high. In 2004, the ten
leading countries contributed about 87% to the global export volume, the USA and
Brazil alone over 54%.
• The regional concentration of poultry meat imports is much lower. The ten leading
countries had a share of 62.6%. None of the countries was in a dominating position.

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• The regional concentration in egg exports and imports is also very high. In 2004, the
ten leading countries contributed 81% to the global export volume and had a share of
73% of the import volume. The Netherlands were the dominating egg exporting and
Germany was the dominating egg importing country.
• In contrast to poultry meat and eggs, where the production volume of developing
countries surpassed that of developed countries in the 1990s, their contribution to the
export volume of these products is still much lower than that of developed countries.
• Developing countries were able to gain higher market shares during the past 35 years
but the regional shift from developed to developing countries has been less dramatic
than that in poultry meat and hen egg production.

Discussion
The preceding study could show the remarkable dynamic of the global poultry industry
over the past 35 years. The dramatic increase of the production volume over time was,
however, very imbalanced from a spatial perspective. Developing countries surpassed the
production volume of poultry meat and eggs of developed countries in the1990s. Asian
and South American countries, in particular China and Brazil as new centres of
production, were the winners, European and North American countries the losers. The fact
that developing countries contributed almost 67% to global egg production in 2005 is
mainly due to the dominating role of China, as this country alone had a share of 41.1% of
the global production volume. In Table 25 the changing contribution of developing
countries to global poultry meat and hen egg production over the analysed time period is
presented with and without China. One can easily see that the contribution of developing
countries without China to egg production increased only until 1990, from then on it has
been hovering around 27% or even decreasing. Quite obviously, egg production in
developed countries is recently growing at least as fast as that in developing countries. The
contribution of China to poultry meat production is much lower and even decreased
between 2000 and 2005. Nevertheless, the share of developing countries has continuously
decreased. This is mainly due to the fast growth of production in Brazil and several
countries in South and East Asia. It can be expected that the share of developing countries,
even if China is excluded, will further increase.
In contrast to Brazil, where an almost unlimited supply of the components for feed
production, especially soybeans, is available, China may have problems in maintaining
the high growth rates in future because of a shortage in feed supply. The consequences
could either be slower growth rates or increasing imports of feed components respectively
poultry products. Increasing imports of feed components would lead to a rise of the world
market price for soybeans and corn and result in higher production costs worldwide. A
similar dynamic has been going on for some years on the global steel market. Increasing
imports would result in higher world market prices for poultry meat and favour growers
and processors in the surplus regions of North and South America as well as in Europe.
The remarkable dynamic of the poultry industry could, however, come to an abrupt halt
if the spatial dissemination of the Avian Influenza virus cannot be stopped. Outbreaks in
Europe and Africa in the first quarter of 2006 had the result that consumers refrained from
eating poultry meat and eggs. According to FAO estimates, the Avian Influenza crisis
could easily lead to a decrease of global poultry meat consumption by 3 M. t in 2006. This
would have far reaching impacts on the development of the world market price and cause
serious financial problems for those processors which heavily depend on exports.
Another impact of a further dissemination of the Avian Influenza virus must not be
forgotten. The eradication of large numbers of poultry flocks in developing countries,

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especially in Africa, could easily worsen the already limited food supply and result in a
famine in several sub-Saharan countries. New outbreaks will necessarily reduce the share
of developing countries of poultry meat and egg production as they in most cases neither
have the knowledge nor the financial means to prevent a further spread of the highly
contagious disease.

References
FAO database: www.fao.org.
WINDHORST, H.-W. (2001) Enriched layer cages and open markets for agricultural products – is there a
chance for the European egg industry? Zootecnica 23 (8): 21-34.
WINDHORST, H.-W. (2004) Will Germany actually ban cages in 2004? Zootecnica 26(4): 18-29.
WINDHORST, H.-W. (2005) Changing regional patterns of turkey production and turkey meat trade. In:
Turkey production: prospects on future developments (Hafez, H., Ed.). Berlin, Germany: Mensch und Buch
Verlag, pp. 25-41.
WOLFFRAM, R., SIMONS, J., GIEBEL, A. and R. BONGAERTS (2002) Impacts of stricter legal standards
in the EU for keeping laying hens in battery cages. World’s Poultry Science Journal 58: 365-370.

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Table 1 Development of global meat and hen egg production between 1970 and 2005; data in 1,000 t
(FAO database).

Year Beef and veal Pigmeat Poultry meat Hen eggs

1970 38,349 35,799 15,101 19,538

1975 43,724 41,674 18,684 22,232
1980 45,551 52,683 25,965 26,215
1985 49,285 59,973 31,206 30,764
1990 53,363 69,873 41,041 35,232
1995 54,207 80,091 54,771 42,857
2000 56,951 90,095 69,191 51,690
2005 60,437 102,523 81,014 59,233
Increase (%) 57.6 186.4 436.5 203.2

Table 2 Development of exported poultry meat and hen eggs between 1970 and 2004 (FAO database, own
calculations).

Year Exported poultry meat Export share Exported hen eggs Export share
1,000 t % 1,000 t %

1970 521 3.5 404 2.1

1975 735 3.9 533 2.4
1980 1,538 5.9 744 2.8
1985 1,667 5.3 757 2.5
1990 2,677 6.5 830 2.4
1995 5,759 10.5 801 1.9
2000 8,780 12.7 942 1.8
2004 9,697 12.0 1,038 1.8
Increase (%) 1,761.2 - 156.9

Table 3 Development of poultry meat production in developed and developing countries between 1970 and
2005; data in 1,000 t (FAO database).

Year World Developed countries Developing countries Share (%) of

developing countries

1970 15,101 11,219 3,882 25.7

1975 18,684 13,409 5,275 28.2
1980 25,965 17,986 7,979 30.7
1985 31,206 20,775 10,431 33.4
1990 41,041 25,827 15,214 37.1
1995 54,771 28,392 26,379 48.2
2000 69,191 32,708 36,483 52.7
2005 81,014 36,663 44,351 54.7
Increase (%) 436.5 227.1 1,042.5 -

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Table 4 Development of hen egg production in developed and developing countries between 1970 and
2005; data in 1,000 t (FAO database).

Year World Developed countries Developing countries Share (%) of

developing countries

1970 19,538 14,866 4,672 23.9

1975 22,232 16,204 6,028 27.1
1980 26,215 17,950 8,265 31.5
1985 30,764 18,667 12,097 39.3
1990 35,232 18,977 16,255 46.1
1995 42,857 17,490 25,367 59.2
2000 51,690 18,263 33,427 64.7
2005 59,233 19,170 40,063 67.6
Increase (%) 203.2 29.0 757.5 -

Table 5 Changing contribution of the continents to global poultry meat production between 1970 and
2005; data in % (FAO database, own calculations).

Continent 1970 1990 2005

Africa 4.0 5.0 4.2

Asia 17.9 24.4 34.0
Europe 28.1 20.6 16.4
USSR 7.1 8.0 -
NC America 36.2 31.3 28.4
S America 5.8 9.5 15.7
Oceania 0.9 1.2 1.2
World 100.0 100.0 100.0

Table 6 Ten leading countries in poultry meat production in 1970 and 2005 (FAO database).

1970 2005
Country Production Share Country Production Share
(1,000 t) (%) (1,000 t) (%)

USA 4,645 30.8 USA 18,538 22.9

USSR 1,071 7.1 China 14,689 18.1
China 971 6.4 Brazil 8,895 11.0
France 637 4.2 Mexico 2,272 2.8
Italy 626 4.1 France 1,971 2.4
United Kingdom 578 3.8 India 1,965 2.4
Spain 499 3.3 United Kingdom 1,573 1.9
Japan 490 3.2 Spain 1,341 1.7
Canada 447 3.0 Indonesia 1,268 1.6
Brazil 378 2.5 Japan 1,240 1.5
10 countries 10,342 *68.4 10 countries 53,752 66.3
World 15,101 100.0 World 81,014 100.0

* Sum does not add because of rounding

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Table 7 Development of the share of various poultry meat types of global poultry meat production
between 1970 and 2005; data in % (FAO database, own calculations).

Year Chicken Turkey Duck Goose Other Total

1970 87.0 8.1 3.3 1.5 0.1 100.0

1975 87.8 7.8 3.0 1.3 0.1 100.0
1980 88.2 7.9 2.7 1.1 0.1 100.0
1985 88.3 7.8 2.8 1.0 0.1 100.0
1990 86.4 9.0 3.0 1.5 0.1 100.0
1995 85.1 8.3 3.8 2.7 0.1 100.0
2000 85.3 7.4 4.3 2.9 0.1 100.0
2005 86.4 6.4 4.2 2.9 0.1 100.0

Table 8 Development of turkey meat production in developed and developing countries between 1970 and
2005; data in 1,000 t (FAO database).

Year World Developed countries Developing countries Share (%) of

developing countries

1970 1,224 1,168 56 4.6

1975 1,462 1,380 82 5.6
1980 2,054 1,956 98 4.8
1985 2,447 2,296 151 6.2
1990 3,704 3,536 168 4.5
1995 4,568 4,331 237 5.2
2000 5,120 4,773 347 6.8
2005 5,167 4,699 468 9.1
Increase (%) 322.2 302.3 735.7 -

Table 9 Ten leading countries in turkey meat production in 1970 and 2005 (FAO database).

1970 2005
Country Production Share Country Production Share
(1,000 t) (%) (1,000 t) (%)

USA 784 64.1 USA 2,464 47.7

Canada 102 8.3 France 633 12.2
United Kingdom 69 5.6 Germany 380 7.4
Italy 65 5.3 Italy 300 5.8
France 56 4.6 United Kingdom 221 4.3
Mexico 18 1.5 Brazil 220 4.3
Germany 16 1.3 Canada 146 2.8
Israel 12 1.0 Israel 113 2.2
Yugoslavia 10 0.8 Hungary 92 1.8
Poland 9 0.7 Chile 86 1.7
10 countries 1,141 93.2 10 countries 4,655 90.1
World 1,224 100.0 World 5,167 100.0

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Table 10 Changing contribution of the continents to global hen egg production between 1970 and 2005;
data in % (FAO database, own calculations)

Continent 1970 1990 2005

Africa 3.0 4.4 3.7

Asia 23.7 39.2 60.4
Europe 30.9 20.1 16.9
USSR 11.5 13.0 -
NC America 25.3 16.4 13.6
S America 4.3 6.3 5.1
Oceania 1.2 0.7 0.4
World *100.0 *100.0 100.0

* Sum does not add because of rounding

Table 11 Ten leading countries in hen egg production in 1970 and 2005 (FAO database).

1970 2005
Country Production Share Country Production Share
(1,000 t) (%) (1,000 t) (%)

USA 4,053 20.7 China 24,348 41.1

USSR 2,248 11.5 USA 5,330 9.0
Japan 1,766 9.0 India 2,492 4.2
China 1,533 7.8 Japan 2,465 4.2
Germany 1,162 5.9 Russia 2,054 3.5
United Kingdom 892 4.6 Mexico 1,906 3.2
France 658 3.4 Brazil 1,560 2.6
Italy 607 3.1 France 1,045 1.8
Spain 464 2.4 Indonesia 876 1.5
Poland 389 2.0 Turkey 830 1.4
10 countries 13,722 *70.5 10 countries 42,906 *72.4
World 19,538 100.0 World 59,233 100.0

* Sum does not add because of rounding

Table 12 Development of poultry meat exports by developed and developing countries between 1970 and
2004; data in 1,000 t (FAO database).

Year World Developed countries Developing countries Share (%) of

developing countries

1970 521 506 15 2.9

1975 735 691 44 6.0
1980 1,538 1,286 252 16.4
1985 1,667 1,297 370 22.2
1990 2,677 2,026 651 24.3
1995 5,759 4,381 1,378 23.9
2000 8,780 5,931 2,849 32.4
2004 9,679 6,028 3,669 37.8
Increase (%) 1,761.2 1,091.3 24,360.0 -

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Table 13 Changing contribution of poultry meat types to global poultry meat exports between 1970 and
2004; data in %.

Poultry meat type 1970 1980 1990 2000 2004

Chicken 92.4 87.0 82.0 78.4 75.4

Turkey 5.1 5.1 9.1 10.3 9.4
Duck 0.1 1.8 1.8 1.1 0.8
Goose 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.5 0.4
Other* 2.3 6.0 7.0 9.6 14.0
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

* includes canned and further processed products

Table 14 Changing contribution of the continents to global poultry meat exports between 1970 and 2004;
data in % (FAO database, own calculations).

Continent 1970 1990 2004

Africa 0.1 0.2 0.1

Asia 3.1 12.0 9.2
Europe 83.7 51.9 33.3
NC America 12.7 23.2 28.6
S America 0.0 12.6 28.5
Oceania 0.4 0.1 0.3
World 100.0 100.0 100.0

Table 15 Ten leading poultry meat exporting countries in 1970 and 2004 (FAO database).

1970 2004
Country Exports Share Country Exports Share
(1,000 t) (%) (1,000 t) (%)

Netherlands 201 38.6 USA 2,652 27.3

USA 65 12.5 Brazil 2,628 27.1
Hungary 62 11.9 Netherlands 695 7.2
Denmark 49 9.4 France 650 6.7
France 31 6.0 Belgium 392 4.0
Bulgaria 27 5.2 China 333 3.4
Poland 18 3.4 Thailand 319 3.3
China 13 2.5 Germany 318 3.3
Germany 7 1.3 United Kingdom 275 2.8
Italy 3 0.6 Denmark 152 1.6
10 countries 476 91.4 10 countries 8,414 86.8
World 521 100.0 World 9,697 100.0

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Table 16 Development of poultry meat imports by developed and developing countries between 1970 and
2004; data in 1,000 t (FAO database).

Year World Developed countries Developing countries Share (%) of

developing countries

1970 510 412 98 19.2

1975 734 477 257 35.0
1980 1,487 706 781 52.5
1985 1,610 835 885 48.1
1990 2,684 1,652 1,032 38.5
1995 5,330 3,188 2,142 40.2
2000 7,748 3,917 3,831 49.4
2004 8,877 5,515 3,362 37.9
Increase (%) 1,604.6 1,238.6 3,330.6 -

Table 17 Changing share of the continents of global poultry meat imports between 1970 and 2004; data in
% (FAO database, own calculations).

Continent 1970 1990 2004

Africa 1.2 4.2 6.4

Asia 13.1 38.0 31.4
Europe 66.5 36.5 49.8
USSR 12.0 10.3 -
NC America 5.7 9.5 11.0
S America 0.4 0.4 0.9
Oceania 1.2 1.0 0.5
World *100.0 *100.0 100.0

* Sum does not add because of rounding

Table 18 Ten leading poultry meat importing countries in 1970 and 2004 (FAO database).

1970 2004
Country Imports Share Country Imports Share
(1,000 t) (%) (1,000 t) (%)

Germany 254 49.8 Russia 1,117 12.6

China 29 5.7 China 808 9.1
Switzerland 25 4.9 Japan 659 7.8
Austria 14 2.7 United Kingdom 619 7.0
United Kingdom 13 2.5 Germany 530 6.0
Czechoslovakia 12 2.4 Mexico 459 5.2
Japan 11 2.1 Saudi Arabia 432 4.9
Saudi Arabia 7 1.4 Netherlands 391 4.4
Singapore 7 1.4 Ukraine 297 3.3
Jamaica 6 1.2 France 208 2.3
10 countries 378 74.1 10 countries 5,556 62.6
World 510 100.0 World 8,877 100.0

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Table 19 Development of egg exports by developed and developing countries between 1970 and 2004; data in
1,000 t (FAO database).

Year World Developed countries Developing Countries Share (%) of

developing countries

1970 404 344 60 14.7

1975 533 477 56 10.5
1980 744 660 84 11.3
1985 757 612 145 19.2
1990 830 730 100 12.0
1995 801 665 136 17.0
2000 942 711 231 24.5
2004 1,038 788 250 24.1
Increase (%) 156.9 129.1 316.7 -

Table 20 Changing contribution of the continents to global hen egg exports between 1970 and 2004; data
in % (FAO database, own calculations).

Continent 1970 1990 2004

Africa 1.0 0.2 1.1

Asia 14.1 11.2 22.2
Europe 79.7 81.6 67.8
USSR - 1.4 -
NC America 4.4 4.8 7.8
S America 0.1 0.7 0.8
Oceania 0.7 0.1 0.2
World 100.0 100.0 *100.0

* Sum does not add because of rounding

Table 21 Ten leading hen egg exporting countries in 1970 and 2004 (FAO database).

1970 2004
Country Exports Share Country Exports Share
(t) (%) (t) (%)

Belgium/Lux. 88,088 21.8 Netherlands 265,288 25.5

Netherlands 79,682 19.7 Spain 103,257 9.9
China 33,531 8.3 China 86,534 8.3
Bulgaria 27,514 6.8 Belgium 77,993 7.5
Hungary 22,828 5.7 USA 72,018 6.9
Poland 22,391 5.5 Germany 63,044 6.1
Romania 17,333 4.3 Malaysia 54.596 5.3
Finland 16,793 4.2 India 48,582 4.7
Lebanon 14,604 3.6 France 39,241 3.8
Germany 11,178 2.8 Belarus 31,196 3.0
10 countries 339,942 82.7 10 countries 841,749 81.0
World 403,618 100.0 World 1,038,442 100.0

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Table 22 Development of egg imports by developed and developing countries between 1970 and 2004; data
in 1,000 t (FAO database).

Year World Developed countries Developing Countries Share (%) of

developing countries

1970 398 303 95 23,9

1975 523 373 150 28.7
1980 733 484 249 34.0
1985 775 603 272 35.1
1990 815 614 201 24.7
1995 769 533 236 30.7
2000 908 624 284 31.3
2004 998 704 294 29.5
Increase (%) 150.8 132.3 209.5 -

Table 23 Changing share of the continents of global hen egg imports between 1970 and 2004; data in %
(FAO database, own calculations).

Continent 1970 1990 2004

Africa 0.8 1.5 4.1

Asia 21.1 20.9 24.4
Europe 62.8 72.0 62.9
USSR 8.3 0.5 -
NC America 6.5 4.4 7.8
S America 0.2 0.6 0.7
Oceania 0.2 0.1 0.1
World *100.0 100.0 100.0

* Sum does not add because of rounding

Table 24 Ten leading hen egg importing countries in 1970 and 2004 (FAO database).

1970 2004
Country Imports Share Country Imports Share
(t) (%) (t) (%)

Germany 126,823 31.9 Germany 251,293 25.2

Hong Kong 44,610 11.2 China 91,619 9.2
USSR 33,461 8.4 Netherlands 79,583 8.0
France 24,800 6.2 France 71,002 7.1
Switzerland 24,301 6.1 Canada 52,233 5.2
Austria 18,937 4.8 Belgium 47,387 4.7
USA 13,814 3.5 Singapore 47,044 4.7
Netherlands 13,243 3.3 United Kingdom 37,277 3.7
United Kingdom 11,342 2.9 Switzerland 27,084 2.7
Italy 10,014 2.5 Denmark 23,587 2.4
10 countries 321,345 80.8 10 countries 728,109 72.9
World 397,615 100.0 World 998,123 100.0

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Table 25 Changing contribution of developing countries and China to global hen egg and poultry meat
production between 1970 and 2005; data in % (FAO database, own calculations).

Hen eggs
Year Developing countries total China Developing countries without China

1970 23.9 7.8 16.1

1980 31.5 8.9 22.6
1990 46.1 18.6 27.5
2000 64.7 37.6 27.1
2005 67.6 41.1 26.5

Poultry meat
Year Developing countries total China Developing countries without China

1970 25.7 6.4 19.3

1980 30.7 6.4 24.3
1990 37.1 9.1 28.0
2000 52.7 18.6 34.1
2005 54.7 18.1 36.6

602 World’s Poultry Science Journal, Vol. 62, December 2006

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