Dozens of media outlets this week have been reporting on a “national chicken wing shortage” taking place across the country. The National Chicken Council agreed some markets are tight, but stopped short of saying there was a shortage.
“No doubt the wing supply is tight right now, but I wouldn’t go as far as to say there is a shortage,” said NCC spokesman Tom Super. “Chicken producers are doing everything they can to overcome the devastating impact of Mother Nature when she inflicted the once in a lifetime winter storm on Texas and nearby states – major chicken producing regions. Keep in mind, too, that this weather event took place in February, right after the biggest event of the year for wings: the Super Bowl.”
Wing demand in general over the past 14-15 months has shown the mighty wing to be “pandemic proof.” “If you think about it, restaurants like wing joints and pizza places were built around takeout and delivery, so they didn’t have to change their business model that much during the pandemic,” Super added. “Wings travel well and hold up during delivery conditions. Plus, they aligned with consumer desire for comfort food during the pandemic. Chicken production remained steady in 2020, and as long as people are sitting around watching TV and maybe drinking a beer, wings will remain in the game. Don’t forget the air fryer revolution, either.
“The industry produces tens of billions of wings annually and producers are working diligently to meet the upsurge in consumer demand by adding millions more.”
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, broiler head slaughtered was down 4% in the first quarter of 2021 and pounds produced down 3%. But production began picking back up in the beginning of April. According to the same data, broilers slaughtered the week ending April 10th were up 4% versus a year ago; the week ending April 17th up 9%; and the week ending April 24th up 7%.
