Dive Brief:
- JBS SA reports that chicken is a better option for meat over beef to meet growing demand in emerging markets, mainly because chicken "is more affordable and faces fewer religious barriers," Bloomberg reported.
- Another reason is that chicken has a shorter growth cycle than beef, less than 50 days versus as much as 22 months.
- Over the past 10 years, the world's chicken output has soared 34% while beef production has only increased 6%.
Dive Insight:
Other issues for the cattle industry in emerging markets include drought, high feed costs, and trade restrictions in Australia and Argentina. Also, near-record high prices per pounds of meat hinder meatpackers in Brazil, an increase of 22% since last year.
While JBS began as a chiefly beef producer, it has since expanded into chicken. The company bought Pilgrim's Pride Corp. in 2009 to capitalize on the poultry market of the U.S., Mexico, and Brazil, among other chicken company acquisitions. JBS is now the world's leading producer of poultry.