Meat Product Manufacturing Industry Overview

Excerpt from Meat Product Manufacturing Report

Companies in this industry slaughter animals and prepare meat products. Major companies include Tyson Foods, Smithfield Foods, and Pilgrim's Pride, all based in the US, along with BRF-Brasil Foods, Danish Crown, Nippon Meat Packers (Japan), and Shuanghui Group (China).

Competitive Landscape

Demand is driven by consumer income and by exports. Because meat is largely a commodity, the profitability of individual companies depends on efficient operations and an effective distribution network. Large companies have big economies of scale in production and distribution. Small companies can compete effectively in a local area or by producing unique products.

Products, Operations & Technology

Major products are wholesale meat parts ("boxed" beef or pork) that will be cut or processed further, ground beef for commercial use, and "case-ready" (ready for supermarket display cases) items for retail use. The industry produces more than 25 billion pounds of beef products per year, and nearly 25 billion pounds of pork products. Veal production is about 130 million pounds, while lamb and mutton production totals about 150 million pounds. Annual poultry production (chickens, turkeys, and ducks) is more than 40 billion pounds.