The US trends are not necessarily the same in Australia. Recent data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows that chicken demand in Australia has outstripped demand for beef, pork, and lamb, even when all three are combined.
In June 2024, chicken consumption per capita per day was 50.6 grams compared to the combined beef, lamb, and pork consumption of 48 grams per capita per day. Since the 1950s, Australia has almost doubled its consumption of chicken, and the reason given for this is a combination of cost and culture. An important factor is the versatility of chicken in Asian dishes as well as many other cultures, such as Middle Eastern and European dishes.
Cost is the other big driver, current supermarket prices have chicken breasts at $13 per kg, compared to beef scotch fillet at $27 per kg, or beef mince at $20 per kg.
There are 103 million tonnes of chicken consumed worldwide (USDA), yet Australians eat 1.3 per cent of that chicken, despite accounting for less than 0.35 per cent of the global population.
As global beef prices move higher this will see higher Australian domestic prices for beef which will ultimately see ongoing increased demand for chicken.
For the beef and lamb sector in Australia this is a worrying trend.
