CHICAGO (Reuters) — U.S. chicken freezer inventories swelled to a nine-year high in April, led by record-setting leg quarter stocks, on rising production and export challenges partly tied to the avian influenza spread in the United States, industry experts said after Friday’s monthly cold storage report.
American shoppers can expect chicken bargains at meat cases as it competes with pork and beef for grill space after the May 25 U.S. Memorial holiday, the official start of summer barbecues, they said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture cold storage report for end of April showed total chicken inventories totalled 765.5 million lbs, up 185 million lbs from a year ago and the highest since 841 lbs in April 2006.
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Leg quarters, which account for roughly half of U.S. broiler exports, in April totalled 180.8 million lbs. It was the most ever for the month, surpassing the previous April 2013 high of 137 million lbs and followed March’s 188.7 million lbs record.
Increased broiler production, fuelled by affordable feed, landed more chicken in national warehouses, said independent market analyst Bob Brown in Edmond, Oklahoma.
Russia’s ban on Western meat imports, including huge amounts of leg quarters, in August in response to sanctions imposed for its involvement in eastern Ukraine contributed to increased poultry inventories, he said.
Furthermore, about 40 countries have implemented partial or full bans on U.S. poultry over bird flu outbreak fears.
“Some cold storage operations are reporting higher-than-normal inventories on a regional basis, as some foreign markets have placed unnecessary restrictions on U.S. chicken on both a countrywide and regional basis,” said National Chicken Council spokesman Tom Super.
Chicken companies are working with the retail and food service sector to encourage them to promote dark chicken meat, he said.
