Monthly Turkey Production and Prices, March 25th 2024
Poult Production and Placement:
The March 12th 2024 edition of the USDA Turkey Hatchery Report, issued monthly, documented 25.05 million eggs in incubators on March 1st 2024 compared to 26.76 million eggs on March 1st 2023* The March 2024 set was down 1.71 million eggs (6.4 percent) from March 2023 and 0.38 million eggs (1.5 percent) less than the previous month of February 2024.
A total of 20.18 million poults were hatched during February 2024 down 1.53 million poults (7.0 percent) compared to 21.70 million in February 2023*. The February 2024 hatch was down 1.35 million poults (6.3 percent) from the previous month of January.
A total of 18.54 million poults were placed on farms in the U.S. in February 2024, compared to 19.87 million in February 2023*. The February 2024 placement was 1.32 million poults (6.7 percent) less than in February 2023* 2023. This data confirms disposal of 1.63 million poults during the month. Approximately 8.1 percent of the February 2024 hatch was not placed.
For the twelve-month period March 2023 February 2024 inclusive, 267.64 million poults were hatched and 249.92 million were placed. This confirms disposal of 17.72 million poults over the 12-month period, corresponding to 6.6 percent of all poults hatched.
* USDA revision from previous monthly report.
Turkey Production:
The March 22nd 2024 edition of the Turkey Market News Reports documented the following provisional data for turkeys slaughtered under Federal inspection:-
- For the processing week ending March 16th 2024, 1.653 million hens were processed at 16.6 lbs. live. This was 2.7 percent more than the 1.609 million hens processed during the corresponding week in February 2024 and 3.8 percent less than the 1.718 million processed during the corresponding week in March 2023. Hen slaughter year-to-date has attained 17.5 million, 4.9 percent less than for the corresponding period in 2023.
Ready to cook (RTC) weight for hens over the most recent week was 22.14 million lbs. (10,065 metric tons). This quantity was 3.3 percent more than the 21.44 million lbs. for corresponding week in February 2024 and 9.9 percent less than the 24.6 million lbs. during the corresponding week in March 2023. Dressing percentage was a nominal 80.5 percent. For 2024 to date RTC hen production attained 235.1 million lbs. (106,844 metric tons). This quantity is 11.5 percent less than for the corresponding period in 2023.
- For the processing week ending March 16th 2024, 2.025 million toms were processed at 44.6 lbs. live. This was 1.5 percent more than the 1.995 million toms processed during the corresponding week in February 2024 and 13.8 percent more than the 1.780 million during the corresponding week in March 2023. Year-to-date 21.62 million toms have been processed, 0.8 percent more than for the corresponding period in 2023.
Ready to cook (RTC) weight for toms during the most recent week was 72.7 million lbs. (33,040 metric tons). This quantity was 1.0 percent more than the 72.0 million lbs. processed during the corresponding week in March 2024 and 14.1 percent more than the 63.8 million lbs. during the corresponding week in February 2023. Dressing percentage was a nominal 80.5 percent. For 2024 to date RTC tom production attained 782.5 million lbs. (355,697 metric tons). This quantity is 1.8 percent more than the corresponding period in 2022.
Wholesale Prices
The National average frozen hen price (8 to 16lbs) for conventional birds during the past week was 103 cents per lb., up 14 cents per lb. (15.7 percent) from the corresponding week in February 2024 and down 50 cents per lb. from the three-year average of approximately 140 cents per lb. The following prices rounded to the nearest cent were documented in the new format report for domestic and export trading on March 22nd 2024:-
|
Product
|
cents per lb.
|
Change from previous Month (%)
|
|
Frozen hens whole Grade A
|
103
|
+15.7
|
|
Frozen toms whole Grade A
|
95
|
+4.4
|
|
Thighs (export)
|
117
|
+12.5
|
|
Necks (toms)
|
64
|
+3.2
|
|
Breasts 10-12 lb. (frozen)
|
170
|
No February comparison
|
|
Breasts B/S (toms)
|
180
|
-17.4
|
|
Drums (toms)
|
70
|
Unchanged
|
|
Wings (full-cut tom)
|
104
|
+11.8
|
|
Tenderloins
|
123
|
No February comparison
|
|
Thigh Meat (skin and boneless)
|
158
|
+15.3
|
|
Mechanically Separated (domestic)
(export)
|
44
44
|
+7.3
+18.9
|
Inventories:
On March 18th 2024 cold storage holdings at selected centers amounted to 76,912 lbs., 1.0 percent less than the inventory of 77,670 lbs. on March 1st 2024.
The March 25th 2024 edition of the USDA Cold Storage Report issued monthly, documented a total turkey stock of 330.4 million lbs. (150,172 metric tons) on February 29th 2024, equivalent to 1.8 weeks of normal seasonal RTE production of toms and hens and up 4.1 percent compared to the inventory on February 28th 2023. The February 29th 2024 value was 9.8 percent above the January 31st 2024 inventory. This change is consistent with seasonal demand.
- The Whole Turkey category of 135.9 million lbs. representing 41.1 percent of total storage of 330.4 million lbs. on February 29th 2024 was 17.2 percent higher than the adjusted inventory for the previous month but 15.1 percent lower than on February 28th 2023.
- Tom carcasses in storage decreased by 27.5 percent from February 28th 2023 to 73.1 million lbs. on February 29th 2024. Tom carcasses increased 16.1 percent during February 2024 as compared to the previous month of January 2023.
- Hen carcasses in storage increased by 5.9 percent from February 28th 2023 to 62.8 million lbs. on February 29th 2024. Hen carcasses increased 10.7 percent during February 2024 compared to the previous month of January 2024.
- Breasts in storage increased 57.6 percent from February 28th 2023 to 57.6 million lbs. on February 29th 2024 and up 15.3 percent from the previous month of January 2024.
- The “Other” and “Unclassified” categories collectively amounted to 989 million lbs. or 29.9 percent of inventory on February 29th 2024. The magnitude of these two non-specified categories suggests that the USDA should attempt to classify product more accurately as to specific product.
February 2024 Production
According to the USDA Poultry Slaughter Report released on March 25th covering, February 2024, comprising 20 working days:-
- During February 2024, 16.2 million young turkeys were processed, 352,000 birds or 2.2 percent more than in February 2023;
- Total live weight in February 2024 attained 526.3 million lbs., 6.8 million lbs. or 1.3 percent more than in February 2023;
- Average live weight in February 2024 was 32.53 lbs., down 0.29 lb. or 0.9 percent compared to February 2023;
- RTC in February 2024 attained 420.0 million lbs., up 4.3 million lbs., or 1.0 percent from February 2023;
- Yield in February 2024 was 79.8 percent compared to 80.2 percent in February 2023.
- The proportion of frozen product in February 2024 attained 36.1 percent of total RTC produced;
- During February 2024 ante-mortem condemnation attained 0.32 percent of live weight, compared to 0.31 percent in February 2023;
- During February 2024, 1.54 percent of RTC weight was condemned compared to 1.13 percent in February 2023.
Comments:
The seasonal increase in stock in January 2024 inventory is evident.
The ratio of hens to toms slaughtered attained 1.0 to 1.2 year-to-date. On an RTC basis the ratio was 1.0 to 3.3.
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.
Export data for turkey products during 2023 and the provisional production and consumption data for 2023 are posted in this edition. During 2023 volume of turkey exports attained 221,920 metric tons up 20.2 percent from the corresponding months in 2023. Value was down 2.0 percent to $628 million. Unit value was down 18.5 percent to $2,829 per metric ton denoting export of lower priced products.
From January 2022 through late-December 2023 losses of turkeys depleted as a result of HPAI attained approximately 14.1 million birds in eight states. This volume is equivalent to the combined production of toms and hens over 3.8 weeks with a nominal average production of 3.7 million harvested birds per week. Incident cases have continued in SD. and MO with losses attaining 90,000 growing birds this past week on four farms in the two states. Cases are occurring despite departure of migratory waterfowl southward along all four U.S. flyways over areas with concentrations of turkey production. This presumes local concentrations of non-migratory waterfowl or resident birds that are reservoirs and disseminators of virus.