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Chapter1: Introduction
World chicken production was an estimated 64,957,921 tonnes in 2003, up
0.3% from the previous year. It is interesting to note that chicken production
has been growing steadily worldwide since the early 1990s. From 1994 to
2003, 49% growth was recorded: this increase is attributable to a number
of factors, including surging production in emerging markets such as Brazil
and Thailand, and greater demand in Western countries for high-protein,
low-carbohydrate products.
The leading chicken-producing countries are the United States, China and
Brazil. In 2003, those three countries accounted for 50% of world chicken
production, as shown in Figure 1 below. Canada was the thirteenth-largest
chicken-producing country in that year, with 1.4% of the world’s production.
Graph 1 - World Chicken
Production
Source: United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FA0)
Cash income earned by chicken farms was estimated
at $1.5 billion in 2003, while retail sales were in the vicinity of $4 billion.
The George Morris Centre has estimated that the chicken industry supports
49,700 jobs in Canada, including 30,500 jobs in the production sector.
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