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. The central region produces over half of the eggs in Canada. Ontario alone produced 227 million dozen eggs in 2007 while Quebec, with 101.5 million dozen, produced 17.6% of the Canadian total.
• 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.

Further Reading

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