Poultry and egg statistics, May 2019 and annual 2018

Released: 2019-05-27

Data on stocks of frozen eggs and poultry meats as well as edible dried egg products are available for May 2019. Data on the placements of hatchery chicks and turkey poults are available for April 2019. Data on egg production are available for March 2019. Annual data on poultry and egg production are available for 2018.

Poultry farmers ramped up production for the ninth consecutive year in 2018, as chicken and eggs remain a popular food choice for many Canadians. Ontario and Quebec accounted for over half the chicken produced in Canada in 2018 and almost two-thirds of the turkey.

Canadian poultry farmers produced a record 1 465.0 million kilograms in 2018, up 4.0% compared with 2017. This marked the ninth consecutive annual rise in the total weight of poultry produced in Canada, due to increased chicken and stewing hen production. Total poultry production includes chicken, turkey and stewing hen.

Net egg production rose 3.3% from 2017 to 800.1 million dozen eggs in 2018, the 14th consecutive annual increase.

Chicken accounts for over four-fifths of poultry production

In 2018, the weight of chicken produced increased for the ninth consecutive year to the highest value on record. Chicken, including stewing hen, accounted for 88.5% or 1 296.4 million kilograms of total poultry produced, a rise in production of 4.8% from 2017.

According to data on food availability released on May 30, 2018, per capita availability of chicken and stewing hen rose 7.6% from 2009 to 2017.

Meanwhile, turkey production declined 1.5% from 2017 to 168.6 million kilograms in 2018 and turkey available for consumption decreased 6.5% from 2009 to 2017.

By way of comparison, per capita availability of pork (-9.4%) and beef (-11.8%) was also down from 2009 to 2017.

Chart 1 
Chicken (including stewing hen) production

Chart 2 
Turkey production

Chicken prices have risen at a much slower pace compared with beef or pork since 2009

Price may be one factor that explains why Canadians are more likely to choose chicken. Prices for stewing beef (+63.1%) rose the most from January 2009 to January 2018, followed by prices for pork chops (+26.3%) and chicken (+19.1%).

The lower price increase for poultry compared with the other popular meats may have led to greater consumer demand, which spurred poultry production and availability for consumption.

Health may also have played a role in Canadians opting for chicken over other meats. Canada's Food Guide recommends lean meats instead of fatty meats as a source of protein and suggests that trans and saturated fats should be limited. Poultry meat does not contain trans fat and is lower in saturated fat than red meat.

Ontario produces the most poultry among the provinces

Ontario (34.0%) accounted for just over one-third or 440.9 million kilograms of the chicken produced in Canada in 2018, while Quebec (26.4%) accounted for just over one-quarter or 342.7 million kilograms.

Ontario and Quebec were also responsible for most of the turkey produced in Canada in 2018, with Ontario producing 43.9% (73.9 million kilograms) and Quebec producing 20.8% (35.1 million kilograms).

Newfoundland and Labrador farmers received the most for their chicken on average at $2.35 per kilogram in 2018, while farmers in Quebec received the least ($2.01 per kilogram).

As was the case in 2017, turkey prices in 2018 were highest for farmers in Nova Scotia ($2.43 per kilogram) and lowest in Manitoba ($2.28 per kilogram).

Chart 3 
Shares of poultry production by province, 2018

A larger cut for egg producers may be due to lower provincial levies

Annual per capita availability of eggs for consumption in Canada increased 26.1% from 2009 to 14.37 kilograms in 2017.

Canada's Food Guide recommends eggs as a source of protein. Eggs are low in saturated fat and do not contain trans fats. Eggs are also one of the most affordable protein sources. Egg prices rose 21.3% from January 2009 to $3.19 per dozen in January 2018—equivalent to $4.48 per kilogram—making them less expensive than stewing beef ($15.28 per kilogram), pork chops ($12.05 per kilogram), or chicken ($7.60 per kilogram).

While the net production of eggs rose 3.3% from 2017 to 2018, the total value of eggs produced rose 7.4% to $1,484.2 million. This led to an increase in the average value of eggs produced, from $1.78 per dozen in 2017 to $1.85 per dozen in 2018. The average value of eggs is the total value of egg production over the net production of eggs.

The higher average value of eggs reflects the increase in the monthly farm price of eggs. In 2017, the average price for eggs paid to farmers ranged from 152.5 cents per dozen to 153.5 cents per dozen. In 2018, the price ranged from 153.4 cents per dozen to 162.9 cents per dozen. One reason for this increase may be the lower levies farmers paid to their provincial boards, which in turn increased the amount of revenue kept by the farmers.

Chart 4 
Production of eggs

Producers in British Columbia receive the most on average for eggs

The average price paid to producers of eggs rose in every province from 2017 to 2018. Producers in British Columbia received the most for eggs at $2.11 per dozen on average (+4.5% from 2017), while those in Prince Edward Island received the least at $1.53 per dozen (+3.0%).

Contact information

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca) or Media Relations (613-951-4636; STATCAN.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.STATCAN@canada.ca).