FAIRR’s top news picks
Record Chicken Prices Squeeze US Shoppers, Benefit Tyson Foods
Reuters | 5 October 2023
Consumption of chicken in the US is expected to exceed 100 pounds per person this year as consumers face food inflation and try to save money. As grocers turn away from higher-end proteins, beef consumption is forecast to drop to its lowest since 2018 whilst prices spike due to lower cattle supplies. Consumer spending cuts have also brought pork consumption to the lowest since 2015. In turn, higher chicken prices will benefit the earnings of top producers like Tyson Foods and Pilgrim's Pride.
South Africa Bird Flu Outbreaks See 7.5 Million Chickens Culled, Causing Poultry and Egg Shortages
The Washington Post | 3 October 2023
Avian flu continues to intensify globally. This week in South Africa, 7.5 million chickens were culled in order to contain dozens of outbreaks of two separate strains of the virus. As the nation’s egg and poultry supply is stretched, grocery retailers like Woolworths and Pick n Pay are
implementing rationing on eggs whilst SPAR is considering egg imports from other African countries.
FAIRR's latest report on avian flu provides further insights into the current outbreak.
French Plan to Vaccinate Ducks for Bird Flu Triggers US Trade Restrictions
Bloomberg | 3 October 2023
France, one of the world’s top poultry exporters, is also struggling to battle avian flu. The nation made the decision to vaccinate millions of ducks despite concerns that vaccinating poultry could risk importers buying infected animals or contaminated products, negatively impacting trade. The US has already restricted French poultry imports whilst Canada issued a temporary suspension. France will be the first country in the EU to implement the vaccines having spent around 100 million euros on the campaign.
Graph of the Week
Source: Bloomberg
More Food for Thought
Zero-Deforestation Soy Finance Initiative Raises $36M | Jennifer Forrest | Environmental Finance
Thousands of Salmon Escaped an Icelandic Fish Farm | The Guardian
FAIRR’s Protein Pulse is a weekly collection of news articles related to the food sector that may be of interest to our members. FAIRR does not necessarily endorse the views of these news articles and assumes no responsibility for any errors or inaccuracies found in third-party content.
