According to USDA-FAS GAIN report MX 2021-0045 released August 17th, chicken production in Mexico will increase by 2.6 percent from 2021, to 3,900 million metric tons (8,580 million pounds) in 2020. Of the total domestic consumption of 4.767 million metric tons, 18 percent will be imported. Accepting a population of 131 million per capita consumption will be 36 kg (80.1 lb.).
Currently the economy of Mexico is depressed as a result of COVID. The Nation’s GDP is expected to grow to 6.0 percent in 2021 but inflation is currently at 5.9 percent. For the period 2018 through the advent of COVID encompassing 2020, household income fell 5.3 percent with retail spending on meats, rising to 5.2 percent. This represented 23 percent of all food expenditures. Demand for chicken in 2020 and into 2021 was reduced by collapse of tourism resulting in reduced demand from the hotel sector.
Major diseases including avian influenza are controlled by a combination of vaccination and biosecurity, facilitated by the high proportion of broilers produced by integrators. Production costs will increase in 2022 reflecting international feed prices with incremental costs passed on to consumers.
During the first half of 2021 Mexico received 435,090 metric tons of chicken from the U.S. valued at $428 million with a unit price of $983 per metric ton. Volume and value were higher by 30 percent and 46 percent respectively compared to the corresponding first half of 2020.