Mar 10, 2006 10:32 am US/Eastern
Bird Flu Worries May Curb Poultry Exports
WASHINGTON (AP) ―
Worries about bird flu have dampened trade prospects for American poultry producers who already are facing lower prices, the Agriculture Department said Friday.
The United States should export 5.3 billion pounds of poultry this year, the department said in its monthly crop report. That's a drop of 95 million pounds from last month's projections, but it remains above last year's 5.14 billion pounds of poultry exports.
Despite fears of bird flu, demand by U.S. consumers should stay strong, the department said.
The average person is expected to eat 87.7 pounds of chicken this year, up from a forecast of 87.2 pounds last month. Americans ate an average of 85.8 pounds of chicken last year, the department said.
Sagging exports and rising production have kept poultry prices low. Prices for beef and pork should remain steady, the department said.
Also Friday, the department raised its price forecasts for corn and soybeans, lowered projections for the price of rice and made no change in the forecast for wheat prices.
Drought continued to stress winter grains across the southern Plains and the Southwest and is spreading north through the central Plains, the department said. Drought also persisted in the central Corn Belt, according to the report.
Snow helped protect Nebraska's winter wheat from a bad cold snap last month, but Montana's wheat was less protected against temperatures dipping as low as minus-30 degrees, according to the report.
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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