Recording an annual average growth rate of almost 3.5 per cent, global duck meat production expanded by some 1.3 million tonnes between 2000 and 2011 as output climbed from 2.9 million tonnes to almost 4.2 million tonnes, according to FAO data (Table 1). If this rate has been maintained, then currently the world total will be approaching a record 4.5 million tonnes.

Source FAO

Production in Africa and Asia grew by 3.7 per cent per year in the review period, while Europe recorded a 2.1 per cent gain. However, data published by AVEC - the Association of Poultry Processors and Poultry Trade in the European Union - indicates that the upward trend in Europe has been halted, with 2012 actually witnessing a near two per cent cut-back. The increase in the Americas was small at just 0.6 per cent per year. The most rapid growth of 5.7 per cent per year was noted in Oceania, but the quantities involved were tiny.

As is clear from Table 1 and Figure 1, the main reason for the global expansion in meat duck production has stemmed from the industry in Asia, which grew from 2.3 million tonnes in 2000 to nearly 3.5 million tonnes in 2011, boosting this region’s share of the world total from 80.5 per cent to 83 per cent.

Figure 1. Indigenous duck meat production ('000 tonnes)

The production data presented in the tables refer to indigenous output which, according to the FAO’s definition, is the quantity of meat from the slaughterings of domestically-grown birds plus the meat equivalent from such birds exported live.

The leading duck producing countries in five major regions are listed in Table 2.

Source FAO

Egypt is the major producer in Africa, its industry having grown from 38,000 tonnes a year back in 2000 to almost 70,000 tonnes in 2009. However, since then, output has slipped back to a little over 63,000 tonnes in 2011.

Production appears stable in Madagascar at around 12,000 tonnes a year.

Clearly, duck meat is not popular in the Americas as the total output for all the countries in this region has declined since 2006 and is not that much greater than the total for Africa.

Accounting for more than 83 per cent of the global total, Asia is clearly the dominant producing region, with mainland China accounting for almost 79 per cent of the regional total. Production in China has escalated at around four per cent per year over the past decade or so, the annual total increasing by one million tonnes from1.8 to almost 2.8 million tonnes.

Myanmar has the fastest growing industry in Asia, output having rocketed by more than 12 per cent per year from 28,400 tonnes in 2000 to exceed 105,000 tonnes in 2011.

Solid growth at around the regional average of four per cent per year has been achieved by both Malaysia and Viet Nam. However, production in Thailand contracted from 102,000 tonnes in 2000 to around 80,000 tonnes in both 2010 and 2011.

While Europe’s meat duck industry recorded an average annual increase of three per cent between 2000 and 2007, it has since slowed to just 0.5 per cent. Nevertheless, in 2011 production exceeded half a million tonnes for the first time (Table 2).

In Europe, as in the other regions, one country dominates production. In this instance, France is the leader, accounting for 57 per cent of the regional total, output having risen from 233,000 tonnes in 2000 to around 292,000 tonnes in 2011. However, the latest AVEC figures indicate that output in France and the EU as a whole slipped a few points in 2012.

Australia accounts for virtually all the duck production in Oceania.

Less Than Four Per Cent of Duck Meat is Exported

A little under four per cent of global duck meat production is exported (Table 3), the volume having risen from 107,000 tonnes in 2000 to almost 159,000 tonnes in 2011.

Source FAO

South Africa is the only significant exporter in Africa (Table 4) although the quantities were small until 2011 when more than 2,000 tonnes were transported to Mozambique.

While exports from the Americas nearly trebled since the start of this review, the quantities, while trending upwards, were not large, amounting to only 17,500 tonnes in 2011. In that year, Canada exported almost 7,900 tonnes, the bulk going to China and Hong Kong. In contrast, exports from the United States have been much more broadly based, sales being made to a large number of countries, though Canada, Mexico, China and the Republic of Korea were the most important customers.

Source FAO

Sales from mainland China are the key to Asia’s total exports, representing over three-quarters of the regional total of 55,500 tonnes in 2011, with 86 per cent being delivered to Hong Kong. Macao and Kyrgyzstan were also significant buyers each purchasing more than 2,000 tonnes.

Europe is easily the leading duck meat exporting region although almost all is sold by EU member states of which, around 84 per cent are purchased by fellow EU members.

While Hungary has been the leading exporter for more than a decade, the quantity sold in recent years has been relatively steady at between 22,000 and 24,000 tonnes a year. In 2011 Hungary’s main customers were Germany (7,300 tonnes), the Czech Republic (5,600 tonnes), Slovakia (3,900 tonnes), Austria (2,500 tonnes) and the UK (1,100 tonnes).

As exports from France have contracted, so sales from Germany have expanded. Back in 2000, France exported almost 17,000 tonnes of duck meat and Germany 4,500 tonnes but by 2011, deliveries from France amounted to just 9,300 tonnes, while Germany’s exports had risen to more than 20,000 tonnes, of which the UK took almost 6,000 tonnes, the Czech Republic 2,600 tonnes, Denmark 2,400 tonnes, the Russian Federation 1,900 tonnes, Austria 1,400 tonnes, Portugal 1,200 tonnes and the Netherlands 1,100 tonnes.

The Netherlands was the third largest exporter in 2011 with 17,500 tonnes with Germany taking 7,700 tonnes, Spain almost 4,000 tonnes, France 1,300 tonnes and the UK nearly 1,000 tonnes.

The leading importers of duck meat are listed in Table 5, most of which have already been referred to in the text regarding the major exporters.

Source FAO

February 2014