Exports of U.S. corn-fed poultry and egg products are one key area of future demand that the Market Development Action Team (MDAT) at NCGA focuses on. The team has funded projects with the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council (USAPEEC), most recently including an economic study on the value of poultry exports to U.S. corn and updates to improved versions of buyer’s guides. The economic study found that poultry exports add $0.28 of value per bushel of corn, which is approximately $4.1 billion in revenue. The new and improved buyer guides for chicken, turkey, and eggs were digitized and updated, including a section on the value and sustainability of U.S. corn. These guides play a large role in securing value back to the U.S. corn grower as they are used at almost all of USAPEEC’s international trade and marketing activities.
The partnership with USAPEEC is one poised to enable success for both poultry producers and U.S. corn growers through the support of NCGA’s Market Development Action Team as well as various state commodity associations. The U.S. poultry industry consumes over 1.2 billion bushels of corn and is a key customer of U.S. corn.
“As we look toward opportunities to increase demand for corn, U.S. poultry and egg exports is one area we can count on. It’s important to support the work USAPEEC does to get U.S. corn-fed poultry and egg products onto families’ tables around the world,” said Bob Hemesath, chairman of the Market Development Action Team.
USAPEEC poultry and egg exports for 2020 were valued at approximately $4.4 billion, with broiler exports up 2 percent in value as compared to the previous year. Mexico remains the top U.S. broiler export market, followed by China, Taiwan, Cuba, Vietnam and Canada. Taiwan is a key market that has experienced record exports as of late, with the U.S. having 93 percent of market share. Vietnam is another area of great interest moving forward for USAPEEC.
“The USA Poultry & Egg Export Council (USAPEEC) is extremely grateful for the ongoing partnership that we have with NCGA,” said USAPEEC’s Chief Operating Officer, Greg Tyler. “Without their generous support, USAPEEC would not be able to carry out some of our vital programs around the globe. These programs are essential to the continued growth in exports for the industries we represent and, in turn, allow for increased production in the United States, which means more demand for high-quality feed grains.”
USAPEEC also markets U.S. turkey internationally. The majority of U.S. turkey exports go to Mexico, followed by China and Canada. Eggs exports were up 6percent in value as compared to the previous year. The top export markets for table and shell eggs are Mexico and Hong Kong, followed by Canada. Processed egg exports mainly go to Japan, followed by Mexico and Canada.
Moving forward, USAPEEC continues to monitor low and high path avian influenza outbreaks and resolve associated trade disruptions. China continues to be an area of opportunity, and South Korea is one of the most promising markets, which USAPEEC is hoping to be further enabled by a recent USDA study on semicarbazide residues levels. This research will be key to allowing more U.S. poultry plants to be relisted as approved for exporting to South Korea. South Africa is another country with opportunity as the U.S. quota continues to increase as consumption requirements of South Africans rise. Finally, India is a huge opportunity market that has recently opened. However, high tariffs continue to limit trade with India, and USAPEEC has made the case to negotiate a tariff reduction of implementation of a tariff-rate quota to USTR.
