Consolidation evident in all sectors of the US industry

摘要

This thumbnail sketch of the broiler, turkey and egg businesses in the USA underlines how production in all sectors is moving into fewer hands. America's ten largest broiler companies accounted for 473.3 million pounds of ready-to-cook (RTC) production on an average weekly basis in 2002, which represented more than 71 percent of the combined output of 663.1m pounds recorded by Watt PoultryUSA's survey of the top 42 companies. The industry is being rationalised with time. Back in 1990, when the total output was in the region of 426.3m pounds a week, the top three companies accounted for just over 35 percent, whereas in 2002 the three leaders represented more than 40 percent of the business. Similarly, the ten largest operations accounted for 62 percent of weekly RTC weight in 1990 but more than 71 percent last year. The total number of broiler farms in the USA has contracted from almost 38,000 in 1987 to fewer than 29,000 ten years later, the latest year for which figures are available (Table 1).