Dry chicken, roasted chicken, baked, baked or fried, you can’t miss the traditional chicken rice. In any of these ways of enjoyment and more, Ecuador’s per capita consumption of chicken meat in 2022 was 28 kg, and according to the Latin American Poultry Association (ALA), the country ranks seventh in consumption of chicken meat in South America. The first three places are occupied by Peru with 52 kg per person, Argentina and Brazil with 45 kg per person per year.

According to Juan Francisco Jaramillo, coordinator of the National Corporation of Poultry Breeders of Ecuador (Conave), The consumption of chicken meat has been growing in recent years in Ecuador by an average of 5% per year and until the end of 2023, the sector is expected to maintain this growth in consumption and production, which by 2022 was 263 million chickensequivalently 495,000 tons of meat, According to the executive authorities

Ecuador opened markets for its chicken meat, 28 tons were exported to the Bahamas

But domestic consumption is not the only thing that has fulfilled the task, because Ecuador applied a twist and from 2023 became a supplier of chicken meat for international markets, or at least for one so far, with the first export to the Bahamas, in the Caribbean, where last May Avícola San Isidro sent a container with 28 tons of chicken meat, and from June it began to send a weekly container, also of 2 tons. 8 tons, to the same destination, at least until the end of the year.

Gladys Quirola, project manager at Avícola San Isidrolocated in the canton of Isidro Ayora, in the province of Guayas, assures that the idea of ​​exporting basically arose from the desire to open new markets, and “the opportunity of a client in the Bahamas also presented itself”.

“We just started this operation a month ago with shipments of one container per week,” reiterated Quirola, who revealed that the poultry farm produces 800,000 chickens per week, which is 42 million per year, and that the operation in the Bahamas is being supplied with current installed capacity.

The executive assured that the company’s production has grown by approximately 10% per year in recent years, fueled by the increase in local consumption of chicken meat.

Regarding exports, he explained that it is a joint effort of the Agency for Phytosanitary and Zoosanitary Regulation and Control (Agrocalidad), the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) and the authorities of the destination country that impose regulations. “The regulations indicated by each country must be respected in order to export to that destination. A very coordinated effort between the authorities of both countries is needed to achieve the goal,” Quirola said, revealing that they are looking for new markets to open by 2024, although he does not want to advance specific destinations.

The first shipment of Ecuadorian chicken meat seduced the Bahamas, where 28 tons per week will continue to be exported.

The one that aims, in the future, at specific markets is Pronaca, a company that today supplies 32% of the chickens consumed in the country, although Andrés Pérez, Director of Institutional Relations at Pronacahe explained that the most important market for Pronaca is Ecuador.

“The export issue is still being worked on, one of the closest horizons could be Asia, which has become a market where we can compete since the company currently has the technology and this is an advantage for reaching other countries,” said Pérez, who confirmed that the country’s consumption of chicken meat has increased because it is the most available protein.

Meanwhile, for coordinator Conave, the consumption of chicken meat varies depending on the economic situation of Ecuadorian families. As incomes increase, families generally increase their protein consumption, he analyzed. “In underdeveloped countries like ours, the decision to buy a product comes down to price, and that’s why as a sector we strive to be more competitive,” he added.

He added that the plan to expand to other markets, especially Asian, is not exclusive to Pronac, because it is generally the north of the industry that also targets neighboring countries and competes with Brazil, Argentina and Chile, which are major chicken meat exporters. “We seek to expand in the countries of our region (Latin America and the Caribbean) and reach the Asian market in the medium term,” said a spokesman for Conave, who warned that in any case the main challenge for the industry is to achieve levels of price competitiveness to make the Ecuadorian product attractive abroad.

“For this we require that the levels of competitiveness improve in other links of our production chain such as agriculture that produces raw materials for balanced animal feed,” Jaramillo said.

Pérez agrees with the Conave administration’s analysis, noting that chicken exports face several challenges, including competitiveness.

In this regard, he assured that the chicken meat industry must ensure that its raw materials are affordable and of high quality in order to remain competitive in international markets. In order to achieve this, the Pronac spokesperson said, it is necessary to promote efficiency in the agricultural sector, striving to improve production processes and reduce input costs, such as chicken feed.

Another factor is sanitary barriers, as he assured that foreign markets are very demanding in terms of sanitary standards.

Chicken production rises 3% in 2022, but starts 2023 with losses of $8 million due to bird flu

He indicated that it is crucial that the chicken meat industry in Ecuador complies with international norms and regulations in order to access these markets. However, the country still faces sanitary challenges, which could hamper exports. “It is crucial to work together with the union and the authorities, such as Agrocalidad, to overcome these sanitary obstacles and guarantee that the products meet the necessary standards,” said Pérez. Added to these challenges are inequities in the industry.

He pointed out that while formal companies, such as Pronaca and other manufacturers, have made progress in improving the sanitation and quality of their products, there may be a disparity across the industry. This means that some producers may be better prepared to export, while others may find it difficult to meet the demanding demands of international markets.

He indicated that it is important to work on standardization and support all players in the industry in order to achieve general improvement.