The consumption of poultry in Israel has been on the rise since 1998. According to the economists of Dun & Bradstreet, there has been an increase of 6.5 kilos annual consumption per capita in the past eight years, which brings the total consumption per person to more than 36 kilos (79.2 pounds) annually.

In comparison to other countries in the world, Italy and France consume one third of the poultry compared to Israel, whereas in Canada consumption is similar to Israel. In the United States, however, the consumption stands at 40.8 kilos (89.76 pounds) per person annually, the highest in the world.

The study indicates that poultry is the preferred meat product for Israelis. Israel produces more than 300,000 tons of chicken and 100,000 tons of turkey per year. Chicken meat constitutes about 78 percent of meat consumption in Israel, followed by beef with only 10 percent, turkey with 8 percent, lamb with less than 1 percent, and other meat.

The poultry fattening industry, which includes chickens and turkeys, is estimated at NIS 4.2 billion (USD 1 billion) in final consumer prices. Despite the drop in prices, the annual volume of the industry has not changed significantly over the past three years mostly due to the rise in levels of consumption.

Meat consumption lower than in other countries

The chilled poultry, which does not go through a freezing process, is the favorite product for the Israeli consumer.

Source: Ynetnews