Highlights

Value of poultry products increases

• The value of poultry products totalled $2.8 billion in 2007, a 10.6% increase from 2006. Sales of poultry meat, including turkey, showed an increase of 13.3% with a total value of $2.1 billion. The value of egg sales increased 3.9% from 2006 to stand at $762.5 million.
  
• Canadian farmers produced 1.2 million tonnes of poultry meat in 2007, virtually unchanged from 2006. Chicken, including stewing hens, accounts for 86% of all poultry meat produced. It increased 3.3% from year-ago levels. Turkey production stood at 169 thousand tonnes in 2007, an increase of 3.4% from 2006.
  
• The quantity of poultry available for consumption has continued to increase over recent years, reaching 13.4 kilograms per person in 2007, a slight increase of 0.3% 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 the time conscious consumer and has contributed to poultry’s on-going popularity.

Egg production decreases in 2007

• Egg production in 2007, at 577.4 million dozen, showed a slight decrease of 0.5% from 2006.
  
• During the first 6 months of 2008, egg production totalled 288.2 million dozen, a small decrease of 0.3% from the same period in 2007.
  
• The annual quantity of eggs available for consumption has declined following 2 years of increases and was pegged at 11.5 dozen per person in 2007, 4.7% less than 2006. However, 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.

Introduction

This publication provides data on the production, supply and disposition and value of poultry meat and eggs. Also included are data on the average price of eggs sold for table consumption, the food available and the food available, adjusted for loss of poultry meats and eggs, and the production and stocks of processed eggs.

The data presented are obtained from a variety of sources such as administrative sources and censuses. Administrative data are provided by the Canadian Egg Marketing Agency (CEMA), Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and Statistics Canada. Information from Statistics Canada’s Census of Agriculture and Census of Population is also used in preparing the estimates.

The data, published on a provincial basis, are used in decision making by government agencies, processors, retailers, universities, producer organizations and health institutions.

Statistics Canada has been estimating poultry meat production and value since 1951. Concepts and methods vary over time due to changes in the sector and/or the availability of data sources. Users should note the following:

1. Production data supplied in table 7 (Supply and disposition of eggs) are compiled in May of each year and revised annually. Production and disposition data supplied in tables 4 and 5 (Disposition of eggs by province) are subject to revision throughout the year and may not compare exactly to the data in table 7 (Supply and disposition of eggs);
   
2. beginning in 1986, the quantity of eggs available for consumption is adjusted to take into consideration a loss of 1.95% of total egg production due to leakers and rejects;
   
3. also beginning in 1986, a new method is used to calculate consumption on the farm;
   
4. a negligible number of hatchery-supply eggs are sold on the table market. Since data on the amount sold are not available, it is deemed to be zero;
   
5. Please note that the quantity and value of eggs sold for hatching in New Brunswick also include the quantity and value for the other Atlantic provinces.

The data series are available on CANSIM at the same time as the information appears in The Daily, Statistics Canada’s official release vehicle. CANSIM, Statistics Canada’s computerized database, is an information management system designed to facilitate both historical research and current analysis.

Further Reading

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August 2008