Poultry Marketplace

Profile of The Canadian Turkey Industry

Chapter 3: Canadian Turkey Production and Supply Structure

• INDEX
  
  
• CHAPTER 1: Introduction
  
  
• CHAPTER 2: World Turkey Production and Trade
  
  
• CHAPTER 3: Canadian Turkey Production and Supply Structure
  • 3.1 Production and Supply Structure
    
  • 3.2 Turkey Hatching Egg Production
    
    • 3.2.1 Production
      
  • 3.3 Turkey Hatching Egg and Poult Imports
    
  • 3.4 Hatcheries
    
    
• CHAPTER 4: Turkey Production in Canada
  
  
• CHAPTER 5: Processing and Further Processing
  
  
• CHAPTER 6: Canadian Turkey Market
  
  
• ANNEX A: The Import Control List
  
  
• Tables and Figures
  
  
• Bibliography

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3.1 Production and Supply Structure

 

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3.2  Turkey Hatching Egg Production

3.2.1 Production

Turkey hatching egg producers are not governed by any supply managed agency and, thus, have no production limitation. Ontario is the largest turkey hatching egg producer with 52% of total Canadian production in 2006 followed by Manitoba with 23% and Quebec with 16%. As Tables 2 and 3 demonstrate, the amount of eggs set and hatched has remained relatively constant over the last decade. The hatchability rate¹ in 2006 stood at 73.6% down from 78.1% in the previous year.

Sources: Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Institut de la statistique du Québec (ISQ) / Compiled by the AAFC Poultry Section.

Sources: Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Institut de la statistique du Québec (ISQ) / Compiled by the AAFC Poultry Section.

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3.3 Turkey Hatching Egg and Poult Imports

Although the majority of the turkey hatching egg and poult sector is supplied domestically, a small proportion of hatching eggs and poults are imported from the United States. Of the 41,112,000 eggs set in 2006, 4,187,000 (approximately 10.2%) were imported. As Table 4 and 5 shows Ontario and Manitoba are responsible for the entire imported stock of hatching eggs and poults coming into Canada in 2006.

Table 4 – Total Imports of Turkey Hatching Eggs by Province
(Thousands of eggs)

	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
B.C.	124	0	0	0	29	62	0	0	53	0
Alberta	55	182	24	0	0	0	0	0	30	0
Saskatchewan	172	0	90	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Manitoba	689	173	84	96	1,988	216	82	1,495	321	2,523
Ontario	2,661	5,255	3,116	1,665	1,653	424	816	2,082	2,001	1,664
Quebec	0	0	0	100	16	0	0	0	0	0
Atlantic Provinces	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TOTAL	3,701	5,610	3,314	1,861	3,686	702	898	3,577	2,405	4,187

Sources: CFIA and ISQ / Compiled by the AAFC Poultry Section.

Table 5 – Total Imports of Turkey Poults
(Thousands of poults)

	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
B.C.	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Alberta	0	0	0	1	2	0	0	0	0	0
Saskatchewan	41	49	46	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Manitoba	42	64	80	154	19	54	66	234	120	244
Ontario	2,234	2,319	4,216	4,347	3,780	3,812	3,891	5,086	3,962	2,962
Quebec	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Atlantic Provinces	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TOTAL	2,317	2,432	4,342	4,502	3,801	3,866	3,957	5,320	4,082	3,206

 Sources: CFIA and ISQ / Compiled by the AAFC Poultry Section.

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3.4 Hatcheries

                                   
Hatcheries are an integral link in the turkey supply chain as they come between two producer groups: turkey hatching egg producers and turkey growers.

As of September 2007, there were 14 federally registered turkey hatcheries in Canada. The breakdown by province is indicated in Table 6.

Table 6 – Number of Registered Turkey Hatcheries (2007)

Provinces	#
British Colombia	1
Alberta	2
Saskatchewan	0
Manitoba	1
Ontario	7
Quebec	3
New Brunswick	0
Nova Scotia	0
Prince Edward Island	0
Newfoundland and Labrador	0
TOTAL	14

Source:  CTMA / Compiled by the AAFC Poultry Section           

Fertile turkey hatching eggs are sent to hatcheries, where they are incubated and hatch into poults 28 days later.  The poults are subsequently shipped and placed on turkey farms until they reach their maturity (from 10 weeks in the case of broiler turkeys to 18 weeks in the case of heavy Toms).

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