Mexico is set to outpace Japan to become the world’s biggest poultry importer by next year according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Between 2013 and 2023 Mexico is expected to have a cumulative growth in poultry imports of 68.7% – ahead of China at 44.7%, Saudi Arabia at 27.4%, the EU at 5.4% and Japan at 5.1%. Mexico produced 3 million tons of poultry last year making it the sixth largest poultry producing country in the world, but because of the price competitiveness of chicken compared to other meats on the Mexican market, demand is expected to surpass domestic production. By 2015 imports are forecast to be between 785,000 to 830,000 tons and continue growing to 1.1 million tons by 2023. By 2023 Brazil will remain the world’s leading poultry exporter shipping 4.87 million tons and the U.S. will remain the world’s second biggest, shipping 4.27 million tons. Over the next decade, Mexico will account for one quarter of the global growth in poultry imports.
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