Australia’s poultry industry is poised to “catch the next wave of growth”, but needs to focus on alternative strategies to capture new opportunities, rather than relying on increasing per capita consumption, according to a new report by agribusiness specialist Rabobank.
Strong growth in volume and value terms is possible, but the Australian chicken meat industry should pursue the development of new export markets, higher-value propositions for consumers and productivity gains, the report states.
Author and senior animal proteins analyst Angus Gidley-Baird said through the adoption of those strategies our analysis indicated the Australian poultry industry could achieve an average annual growth rate of 3.5 per cent in the next five years.
“This represents a moderation from the lofty growth rates of 5.9pc achieved in recent years, as the industry matures and domestic consumption stabilises, however it would still see production lift by some 40,000 tonnes per year, equating to an additional 109 million birds by 2021,” he said.
The report warns that unless there is an expansion into new export markets, growth in the poultry industry will be linked to population growth, which is expected to be fairly lacklustre at 1.17pc per annum.
Developing new markets the report said an increase in exports, to around 10pc of production, will be key to increasing volume and value in the Australian chicken meat industry.
“Currently, less than 5pc of Australian chicken is exported,” Mr Gidley-Baird said.
“However there are significant growth opportunities in South-East Asia, such as Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia, as their per capita consumption increases.
“While it would be difficult for Australia to compete from a total cost perspective, there are opportunities to sell different cuts and therefore complement the total return per bird.
“For example, the US exports dark chicken meat and non-breast cuts into the Asian market, which is not only preferred by these markets, but complements the US domestic operations to provide a higher overall value return per bird.”
