Chapter 5: Consumption

• 5.1 Canadian Chicken Consumption
  
  
  • 5.1.1 Per-capita Chicken Consumption
  • 5.1.2 Canadian Protein Consumption
    
    
• 5.2 Comparative Consumption in Other Countries
  
  
• 5.3 Consumption of Chicken versus Other Meats
  
  
• 5.4 Price Indexes
  
  
• 5.5 Retail Trade
  
  • 5.5.1 Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors (CCGD)
    
• 5.6 Food Services
  
  • 5.6.1 Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA)

5.1 Canadian Chicken Consumption

Chicken consumption has been growing steadily for the past 20 years: total domestic consumption was 964,576,000 kg in 2003, compared to 457,379,000 kg in 1984. This 111% increase has been due in part to the country’s population growth, but another factor has been chicken’s increasing popularity among Canadians during this period, as will be seen from the statistics on per-capita consumption in the following paragraphs.

5.1.1 Per-capita Chicken Consumption

As Graph 2 shows, per-capita chicken consumption has soared in the past 30 years, from 14.3 kg in 1973 to 30.5 kg in 2003, an increase of 113%. By way of comparison, per-capita beef and pork consumption declined by 22% and 12% respectively over the same period.

Other factors contributing to this trend have included an ongoing consumer preference for time-saving, easy-to-prepare and ready-to-eat chicken-based products and advertising campaigns stressing the health benefits of eating chicken.

Graph 2 - Per capita Consumption of Chicken in Canada - 1973-2003
(eviscerated weight)

Source: Statistics Canada, table 002-0011

5.1.2 Canadian Protein Consumption

Chicken is an important source of protein, and it is interesting to note that Canada’s consumption of protein has been increasing since the early 1990s. Statistics Canada estimates that the quantity of protein in the average Canadian’s diet was 108 grams per day in 2003, up from 100 grams in 1990. Meat is Canadians’ main source of protein, and they are obtaining more and more of it from chicken.

5.2 Comparative consumption in other countries

The world’s total consumption of chicken has been increasing steadily year by year, thanks to sustained demand for an affordable meat that offers health benefits, together with the growth of poultry industries in such emerging countries as Brazil and China. The United States is the world leader in total chicken consumption, followed by China, the European Union and Brazil; those four combined account for 67% of world consumption. Canada ranks ninth, with consumption of 939,000 tonnes.

¹Preliminary data
²Projection

Source: United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

According to data from the USDA compiled by the Chicken Farmers of Canada (CFC), Canada also ranks ninth among the world’s countries in terms of chicken consumption per capita. The people of the United Arab Emirates continue to hold the title of “world champion” chicken consumers, with 53.5 kg per capita annually. Kuwait and the United States, both with over 40 kg per capita annually, are the other two countries making up the world’s top three.

Source: CFC

5.3 Consumption of chicken versus other meats

Between 1983 and 2003, the average Canadian consumed from 92 to 98 kg⁴ of meat annually. The total quantity of meat consumed was very stable, with increases in the consumption of one type of meat being offset, as a rule, by declines in the consumption of some other type. Accordingly, it is noteworthy that increased consumption of chicken (and poultry in general) in Canada has occurred just as beef consumption has been declining.

Beef consumption peaked in the mid-1970s and has been declining steadily ever since (between 1983 and 2003, per-capita beef consumption fell by 19%). Pork consumption has been fairly stable since the mid-1970s, albeit with some fluctuations. Conversely, as we have seen, poultry consumption per capita has grown substantially during these years.

In 2003, the various meats ranked by per-capita consumption were as follows: chicken, 30.5 kg; beef, 32.0 kg; pork, 25.2 kg; turkey, 4.2 kg; mature chicken, 1.7 kg; veal 1.3 kg; mutton and lamb, 1.1 kg. The data on consumption used for purposes of these comparisons are expressed in terms of eviscerated weight in the case of poultry and carcass weight for beef, pork, veal and lamb.

Graph 3 shows per-capita consumption of chicken compared to other leading meats.

Graph 3 - Consumption of Chicken Versus Other Meats
(per capita - Canada)

A comparison of chicken with other poultry meats reveals that per-capita consumption of turkey remained in the 3.9-4.5 kg range between 1983 and 2003, with annual per-capita consumption averaging 4.2 kg. Similarly, mature chicken consumption remained stable, and has even declined slightly in recent years: between 1982 and 2002, per-capita consumption of mature chicken remained in the 1.0-2.0 kg range, with annual consumption at 1.6 kg. Graph 4 shows the growth in poultry consumption over the past 20 years.

Graph 4 - Consumption of Chicken and Other Poultry Meats
(per capita - Canada as a whole)

5.4 Price indexes

Canada’s chicken industry is affected by a number of price indexes: the farm input price index (FIPI), the raw materials price index (RMPI), the industrial product price index (IPPI), and the more familiar consumer price index (CPI).

The FIPI may be viewed as the production inputs index, the RMPI and the IPPI as processing cost inputs indexes, and the CPI as the cost to the consumer. These indexes can be used to discern market trends and evaluate their potential impact on the consumer price index.

Production input costs have been rising for 10 years; feed costs in particular shot up sharply in 1995 and early 1996, but have been increasing more gradually in recent years. However, the cost of chicks, which are the other main input, has remained relatively stable over the past decade. Input costs for chicken processors have remained relatively stable since the early 1980s, and have even declined on occasion. The table below shows how consumer prices have changed over the past 20 years for various commodities, including the main types of meat.

5.5 Retail trade

5.5.1 Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors (CCGD)

http://www.ccgd.ca

The CCGD is a not-for-profit association representing distributors and other stakeholders in Canada’s food and grocery products industry. CCGD members account for over 80% of all food distribution in Canada. They include both large and small retail and wholesale enterprises and grocery chain operators, as well as allied members providing products and support services to the rest of the industry. The CCGD’s mission is to advance and promote its members’ economic well-being and help them to deliver the best possible value to Canadian consumers.

The CCGD brings together the industry’s collective skills and knowledge to advance public policy initiatives of value to its members, ensure that the industry has an optimal regulatory environment in which to operate, and develop and implement standards and best practices that benefit both its members and consumers.

5.6 Foodservice

5.6.1 Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA)⁵

http://www.crfa.ca

The CRFA, which was founded in 1944, is the largest hospitality association in Canada and represents over 16,500 member businesses. CRFA members include restaurants, fast food outlets, hotels, caterers, institutions, educators and foodservices suppliers.

The CRFA provides a variety of services to members, including government lobbying, human resources development, professional development programs, industry research and market information, group buying programs, and the staging of national hospitality trade shows.

⁴ Calculated on the basis of carcass weight in the case of red meats and eviscerated weight in the case of poultry.
⁵ Quebec establishments are represented by le Conseil des chaînes de restaurants du Québec (CCRQ), an association affiliated to the CRFA.

Important Notices

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