Analysis of the Current Development Status and Prospects of the Broiler Farming Industry

I. Current Development Status of the Broiler Farming Industry

Poultry farming has a history of more than 5,000 years in China. Since the reform and opening up more than 30 years ago, China's poultry industry has achieved rapid development, with poultry stock and egg production ranking first in the world for many consecutive years, and poultry meat production ranking second in the world. At present, it is undergoing a transition period: moving from simple production methods and low production efficiency and output levels toward modern farming models.

At present, China's egg production ranks first in the world, accounting for about 40% of total egg output. China's chicken production capacity ranks second in the world, but currently limited by product quality, the export of China's poultry products is not very smooth.

Overall, the characteristics of China's poultry farming industry are shown in the following aspects: the industrial model of small-scale farms in large groups still occupies an important position, while modern farming models are emerging; production conditions are crude and simple, equipment implementation varies greatly, and overall investment is insufficient; production efficiency and output levels are uneven, with overall efficiency and levels being relatively low; products are primitive with low commodity attributes, and brand marketing efforts are weak; the proportion of products sold domestically is high, while the proportion of processing and export is low.

II. The New Normal of China's Broiler Farming Industry

At present, the new normal of China's broiler farming industry has four major characteristics:

The first is overcapacity. From 2010 to 2013, China's imports of grandparent stock of white-feathered broilers continued to grow, and large quantities of imports led to severe overcapacity, causing oversupply in both the parent stock and commercial stock markets of China's white-feathered broilers. As a result, since 2013, China's white-feathered broiler industry has suffered repeated losses.

The second is the risk of disease. From a longer-term perspective, China's biosecurity environment will not improve significantly for some time, while China's poultry farming volume has remained at a high level. In addition, during the transition period of industrial restructuring, the coexistence of multiple farming methods, the increasingly rapid mutation and virulence increase of pathogens, the emergence of new diseases, and the increase of opportunistic pathogens have made the epidemic prevention and control situation of China's poultry farming industry increasingly severe.

The third is that policies promote industrial transformation and upgrading. In the past two years, in order to promote the transformation and upgrading of small-scale free-range farmers, the state has issued many laws and regulations concerning livestock and poultry farming, raising the entry threshold for the farming industry, but the establishment of a supervision system for enforcement is still incomplete.

The fourth is the risk on the consumer side. As the public pays more attention to food safety, and with the shadow of avian influenza still hanging over the poultry industry, coupled with the negative impact of fast-grown chickens, the public still has misunderstandings about industrially produced white-feathered broilers, which can only be changed through continuous publicity to consumers.

III. Development Prospects of China's Broiler Farming Industry

With the development of the global economy and the acceleration of integration, global chicken consumption will continue to grow in the future. We can foresee that in the near future, broiler products will become the largest meat consumer product in most countries. As China's economy develops rapidly and people's living standards continue to improve, the total national demand for chicken in China is also gradually increasing. At present, per capita chicken consumption in the United States is 44.03 kg, and per capita consumption in the European Union is 19.40 kg, both far higher than China's per capita consumption of 9.38 kg. China's broiler industry still has considerable room for development.

From the domestic situation, because broilers have the characteristics of high feed conversion efficiency, fast turnover, and high profitability, and as China's economy continues to grow rapidly, consumer demand for chicken will continue to increase. Moreover, chicken is rich in nutrients, has a unique flavor, and is inexpensive and good value, so chicken consumption will inevitably continue to grow. The prospects for the domestic broiler industry are relatively bright.