Statistics Canada finds value of poultry has increased

Statistics Canada released its Canadian Poultry and Egg Statistics – October to December 2009 report in March, which found that the value of all poultry products has increased.

The report found that the value of all poultry products totalled $3.2 billion in 2008, a 13.1 per cent increase from 2007.

Sales of poultry meat, including turkey, showed an increase of 15 per cent for a total value of $2.4 billion.

The value of egg sales increased 7.9 per cent from 2007 to stand at $823.0 million.

More figures

Canadian farmers produced 1.2 million tonnes of poultry meat in 2008.

Chicken, including stewing hens, accounted for 85 per cent of all poultry meat produced, up 1.2 per cent from 2007.

Turkey production stood at 180 thousand tonnes in 2008, an increase of 6.5 per cent from the previous year.

The quantity of poultry available for consumption has continued to increase over recent years, reaching 13.6 kilograms per person in 2008, a slight increase of 1.5 per cent from last year and well above the 11.7 kilograms available for consumption per person ten years ago.

The introduction of varied and readily available easy-to-prepare and ready-to-eat poultry products appeals to time-conscious consumers and has contributed to poultry’s on-going popularity.

Egg production increases in 2009

Egg production was 580.8 million dozen, an increase of 0.2 per cent from 2008.

The central region produces over half of the eggs in Canada with Ontario producing 233.2 million dozen eggs and Quebec producing 98.8 million dozen.

In December 2009, production reached 50.1 million dozen, unchanged from levels the same date a year ago.

Annual egg consumption has stabilized in recent years and was pegged at 12 dozen per person in 2008, following a decrease in 2007.

Generally, the recent sustained growth in eggs available for consumption can be attributed to the publicity surrounding the nutritional benefits of eggs, the increased use of eggs by the food service sector, the growing popularity of value added products and the expanded use and availability of processed egg products.