Share via Email


* Email To: (Separate multiple addresses with a semicolon)
* Your Name:
* Email From: (Your IP Address is 52.207.218.95)
* Email Subject: (personalize your subject)


Email Content:
Chick-News.com Poultry Industry News, Comments and more by Simon M. Shane

Turkey Month, February 2023

02/24/2023

Monthly Turkey Production and Prices, January 24th 2023

 

Poult Production and Placement:

The February 15th 2023 edition of the USDA Turkey Hatchery Report, issued monthly, documented 26.808 million eggs in incubators on February 1st 2022 compared to 26.675 million eggs on February 1st 2022* The February 2023 set was up 0.5 percent (133,000 eggs) from February 2022 but 476,000 eggs (1.7 percent) lower than the previous month of January 2023.

 

A total of 23.427 million poults were hatched during January 2023 up 757,000 poults (3.3 percent) compared to 22.670 million in January 2022*. The January 2023 hatch was up 574,000 poults (2.5 percent) from the previous month of December 2022.

 

A total of 21.562 million poults were placed on farms in the U.S. in January 2023, compared to 20.946 million in January 2022*. The January 2023 placement was 3.0 percent, (617,000 poults) more than the month of January 2022. This data confirms disposal of 1.865 million poults during the month. Approximately 8.0 percent of the January 2023 hatch was not placed.

 

For the twelve-month period February 2022 through January 2023 inclusive, 273.215 million poults were hatched and 254.335 million were placed. This confirms disposal of 18.88 million poults over the 12-month period, corresponding to 6.9 percent of all poults hatched.

* USDA revision from previous monthly report.

 

 

Turkey Production:

The February 24th edition of the Turkey Market News Reports documented the following provisional data for turkeys slaughtered under Federal inspection:-

  • For the processing week ending February 18th 2023, 1.762 million hens were processed at 18.0 lbs. live. This was 27.9 percent more than the 1.378 million hens processed during the corresponding week in January 2023 and 5.9 percent less than the 1.848 million processed during the corresponding week in February 2022. Hen slaughter year-to-date has attained 11.63 million, 9.3 percent more than for the corresponding period in 2022.

 

Ready to cook (RTC) weight for hens over the most recent week was 25.6 million lbs. (11,618 metric tons). This quantity was 27.5 percent more than the corresponding week in January 2023 and 0.2 percent less than the 25.62 million lbs. during the corresponding week in February 2022. Dressing percentage was a nominal 80.5 percent. For 2023 to date hen production attained 168.84 million lbs. (76,745 metric tons). This quantity is 12.9 percent more than for the corresponding period in 2022.

  • For the processing week ending February 18th 2023, 1.849 million toms were processed at 44.4 lbs. live. This was 7.6 percent less than the 2.001 million toms processed during the corresponding week in January 2023 and 15.4 percent less than the 2.185 million during the corresponding week in February 2022. Year-to-date 13.7 million toms have been slaughtered, 5.7 percent less than for the corresponding period in 2022.

Ready to cook (RTC) weight for toms during the most recent week was 66.04 million lbs. (30,019 metric tons). This quantity was 7.3 percent less than the corresponding week in January 2023 and 16.6 percent less than the 79.2 million lbs. during the corresponding week in February 2022. Dressing percentage was a nominal 80.5 percent. For 2023 to date tom production attained 49.3 million lbs. (22,409 metric tons). This quantity is 6.6 percent less than the corresponding period in 2022.

 

The National average frozen hen price for conventional birds during the week ending February 24th was 172 cents per lb., unchanged from the corresponding week in January 2023 and up approximately 52 cents per lb. from the three-year average of approximately 120 cents per lb. The following prices rounded to nearest cent were documented in the new format report for domestic and export trading on February 24th 2022:-

 

Product

cents per lb.

Change from previous Month (%)*

Frozen hens

172

Unchanged

Frozen toms

172

Unchanged

Fresh hens

190

Unchanged

Fresh toms

190

Unchanged

Breasts 4.0-8.0 lb. (frozen)

270

No new quotation

Breasts B/S tom

424

No previous quotation

Drums

95

-12.0

Wings (V-cut)

125

-1.6

Wings (full-cut)

103

-25.9

Thigh Meat

198

-0.5

Mechanically Separated (export)

65

-7.1

 

Inventories:

 

On February 20th 2023 cold storage holdings at selected centers amounted to 67,269 lbs., 10.9 percent more than the inventory of 60,715 lbs. on February 1st 2023.

 

The February 24th 2022 edition of the USDA Cold Storage Report issued monthly, documented a total turkey stock of 284.5 million lbs. (129,318 metric tons) on January 31st 2023, equivalent to 3.0 weeks of normal seasonal production and up 16.7 percent compared to the inventory on January 31st 2022. The January 31st 2023 value was 50.0 percent above the December 31st 2022 level. This change is consistent with season.

 

  • The Whole Turkey category of 131.6 million lbs. representing 46.2 percent of total storage of 284.5 million lbs. on January 31st 2023 was 91.9 percent higher than the adjusted inventory for the previous month and 2.8 percent higher than on January 31st
  • Tom carcasses in storage increased by 12.8 percent from January 31st 2022 to 79.6 million lbs. on January 31st Tom carcasses increased 111.3 percent during January 2023 compared to the previous month of December 2022.
  • Hen carcasses in storage decreased by 9.6 percent from January 31st 2022 to 52.0 million lbs. on January 31st Hen carcasses increased 68.3 percent during January 2023 compared to the previous month of December 2022.
  • Breasts in storage increased 53.5 percent from January 31st 2022 to 45.1 million lbs. on January 31st 2023 and up by 40.2 percent from the previous month of December 2022.
  • The “Other” and “Unclassified” categories collectively amounted to 101.4 million lbs. or 35.6 percent of inventory on January 31st The magnitude of these two non-specified categories suggests that the USDA should attempt to classify product more accurately as to specific product.

 

January 2023 Production

 

According to the USDA Poultry Slaughter Report released on February 22nd 2023 covering, January 2023, comprising 21 working weekdays:-

  • During January 2023, 16.9 million young turkeys were processed. (1.8 percent more than in January 2022);
  • Total live weight in January 2023 attained 552.6 million lbs. (0.4 percent more than in January 2022);
  • Average live weight in January 2023 was 32.7 lbs. (1.3 percent less than January 2022);
  • RTC attained 440.9 million lbs. (up 0.3 percent from January 2022) with a yield of 79.8 percent.
  • The proportion of frozen product in January 2023 attained 38.6 percent of total RTC produced.
  • During January 2023 ante-mortem condemnation attained 0.21 percent of live weight, (0.22 percent in January 2022).
  • During January 2023, 1.19 percent of RTC weight was condemned (1.26 percent in January 2022)

 

Comments:

 

The seasonal increase in January 2023 inventory is evident.

 

More turkeys were slaughtered in January 2023 compared to 2022 but with a marked shift to hens.

 

Export data for turkey products in 2022 and provisional production and consumption data for 2023 are posted in this edition.

U.S. exports of turkey products in 2022 attained 184,837 metric tons, down 25.6 percent from 2021 (248,369 metric tons). Value decreased 3.6 percent to $642 million ($666 million in 2021). Unit price increased 29.5 percent from 2021 to $3,473 per ton.

 

As of mid-February 2023 losses of turkeys depleted as a result of HPAI attained approximately 9.8 million birds on 227 farms in seven states. This volume is equivalent to a 2.5 week combined hen and tom production to date that has averaged 4.0 million per week.


 
Copyright © 2024 Simon M. Shane