8 • URNER BARRY'S REPORTER / VOL. 18, NO. 4 / FALL 2023
To begin 2023, Urner Barry instituted an all-new NAE (No
Antibiotics Ever) Chicken Pricing Table. This new undertaking came
about with our reporting office continuously soliciting feedback
from stakeholders to ensure that our current market coverage
reflects the timeliest, and most accurate conditions and practices.
As we move into the final stages of the year, we felt that it was
important to review the current market performance of some key
lines and how they compare to their conventional counterparts,
as well as delve into the current happenings regarding the
industry itself.
In our initial canvass to determine which segments garnered
enough spot movement to fit into our reporting methodologies,
boneless breasts and tenders fit the bill. Both lines are heavily
featured in the conventional and NAE space, which made them an
easy addition to our new initiative. It should come as no surprise
that due to the higher upfront costs associated with production
of NAE chicken, the ask prices and values associated with the
final product usually represent a modest premium to conventional
offerings. But one of the more apparent market dynamics that
was discovered throughout this year when comparing both lines,
is just how closely they track, as well as their expanding and
contracting movements during times of volatility. For instance,
during early March of this year, both lines of boneless breasts
were shifting higher in response to tight supplies and robust
demand. Due to this, the spread between conventional and NAE
grew to a nearly 10.5% premium as sellers took advantage of
the minimal available supplies and lack of recourse for buyers. A
similar scenario played out for tenders at the end of May with the
average weekly premium growing to nearly 5% for NAE compared
to conventional. The opposite was shown for both lines during a
correcting market as well. With plentiful offerings of both boneless
and tenders in mid-July, buyers were able to pick and choose
what product they took home, which kept pressure on sellers to
make their supplies as attractively priced as possible. The average
weekly premium for NAE boneless shrunk to just over 8%, while
NAE market performance and landscape update…
Definitive pricing trends
coming into view Photo: ©YARUNIV Studio / Shutterstock.com