Poultry & Eggs

This page provides information on:  

• Periodic and scheduled USDA, ERS publications and data on poultry and eggs
• Recent USDA, ERS publications relating to poultry and eggs

The United States is the world's largest producer and second largest exporter of poultry meat, and is a major egg producer. Poultry meat (broilers, other chicken, and turkey) accounted for 51 percent  of total red meat and poultry disappearance in 2024. Also in 2024, 13.6 percent of poultry meat produced in the United States was exported. The U.S. poultry industry is influenced by currency fluctuations, trade negotiations, and international competition. The poultry and egg industries are also major consumers of feed grains.

USDA, ERS provides monthly reports on the poultry and egg industry outlook and data covering supply, use, prices, and trade.

Periodic, Scheduled Outputs 

• Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook, a monthly report that analyzes economic impacts of month-to-month changes in USDA’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report on domestic and international markets for beef, lamb, pork, poultry, eggs, and dairy products.
• WASDE at a Glance, a monthly interactive visualization that provides key data and highlights from USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates on livestock and dairy as well as field crops.
• Livestock and Meat Domestic Data, a monthly data product that contains current and historical data on beef, veal, poultry, and pork including production, supply, utilization, and prices.
• Livestock and Meat International Trade Data, monthly and annual data for imports and exports of: live cattle, hogs, sheep, and goats, beef and veal, pork, lamb and mutton, chicken meat, turkey meat, and eggs and egg products. The tables report physical quantities, not dollar values or unit prices. Data on beef and veal, pork, and lamb and mutton are on a carcass-weight-equivalent basis. Data are broken down by country of origin or destination.
• Meat Price Spreads, a monthly data set that provides average price values and the differences among those values, at the farm, wholesale, and retail stages of the production and marketing chain for selected cuts of beef, pork, and broilers.
• USDA's Agricultural Baseline Projections offer 10-year projections from USDA's annual long-term projections analysis. The associated database covers projections for the four major feed grains (corn, sorghum, barley, and oats), in addition to the other major feed crops and livestock.

Recent ERS Publications Relating to Poultry and Eggs

ERS also produces reports covering domestic and global conditions, trends, and policies that affect poultry supply, demand, prices, and trade in the egg and poultry sector. Recent USDA, ERS reports relating to poultry and eggs include:

• Demand for Alternative Feed Grains for Broiler Production in an Era of Global Price Uncertainty: The Case of Sorghum The expansion of broiler production to meet a growing demand for chicken meat has increased the need for feed globally. However, the demand for feed is complex, as these feedstuffs are also used for human consumption and biofuels, and broiler farmers tend to be risk averse when faced with uncertain input prices. This study looks at how the increased demand for broiler feed may have affected the demand for feed alternatives among some of the world’s major broiler producing countries, when faced with uncertain global feed prices and rising feed costs. (ERR-350, April 2025).
• Animal Welfare and Treatment Label Claims in U.S. Table Eggs: Trends in Retail Premiums and Policy Impacts, 2008–18 This report examines the retail premiums, or discounts, for animal welfare and treatment claims in U.S. table eggs and assesses the dynamics of those premiums from 2008 to 2018. The report also investigates the impacts of the 2014–15 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak and the passage of several State-level policies addressing the treatment of laying hens and the sale of eggs on the average retail premiums for animal welfare and treatment claims on table eggs sold between 2008 and 2018. (ERR-343, January 2025).
• Poultry Is Expected to Continue Leading Global Meat Imports as Demand Rises: Over the past two decades, poultry has become the most consumed livestock commodity in the world, especially in developing and emerging markets where production prospects have been relatively limited. Poultry is expected to remain the world’s largest imported livestock commodity by volume over the next 10 years. (Amber Waves, August 2022).
• Impacts of the 2014-2015 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Outbreak on the U.S. Poultry Sector: Between December 2014 and June 2015, more than 50 million chickens and turkeys in the United States died of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) or were destroyed to stop the spread of the disease. This report provides an overview of the HPAI outbreak with a focus on the impacts on U.S. poultry production, trade, and prices. (LDPM-282-02, December 2017).
• Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and Tariff-Rate Quotas for U.S. Meat Exports to the European Union: The United States is the world’s second largest broiler meat exporter, and exports are a valuable source of income for the industry. USDA, ERS examines factors affecting the growth in broiler meat exports, focusing on several major markets. (LDPM-245-01, December 2014).
• Assessing the Growth of U.S. Broiler and Poultry Meat Exports: The United States is the world’s second-largest broiler meat exporter, and exports are a valuable source of income for the industry. USDA, ERS examines factors affecting the growth in broiler meat exports, focusing on several major markets. (LDPM-231-01, November 2013).
• Local Meat and Poultry Processing: The Importance of Business Commitments for Long-Term Viability: Consumer demand for local meat has risen in recent years. Farmers contend that limited processing capacity restricts supply, while processors often lack the consistent business required to make a profit. (ERR-150, June 2013).
• Food Safety Audits, Plant Characteristics, and Food Safety Technology Use in Meat and Poultry Plants: USDA, ERS documents the extent of food safety audits in meat and poultry processing plants and examines the association between the use of audits and the plants’ size, business structure, and application of food safety technology. (EIB-82, October 2011).