US chicken supply likely to 'shorten up' because of McDonald's plan to start selling bone-in chicken wings across US from September-November, says Sanderson Farms CEO
Nevin Barich
CHICAGO
,
August 27, 2013
(Bloomberg LP)
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McDonald’s Corp.’s plan to start selling bone-in chicken wings across the U.S. from September through November likely will “shorten up” supply, said Sanderson Farms Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Joe F. Sanderson Jr.
“Anytime anybody features wings and sells wings, it’s going to take some wings off the market,” Sanderson said in a telephone interview today.
Wings in cold storage at the end of July almost doubled to 94.2 million pounds (207 million kilograms) from a year ago, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Georgia Dock price of wings, a benchmark for the commodity, has dropped 29 percent to $1.44 a pound from a January record, according to the USDA.
It’s difficult to determine how McDonald’s entry into the wings market will affect prices because it’s unclear how much inventory the Oak Brook, Illinois-based restaurant chain holds, Sanderson said. Demand typically rises during the U.S. football season that begins in September and peaks around the Super Bowl championship game.
Sanderson is not a supplier of wings to McDonald’s.
--Editors: Will Wade, Charles Siler
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