Chicken feet are a common food on dim sum menus and a popular street snack, but the high prices of chicken feet threaten to put them out of reach for many Chinese consumers.
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(Bloomberg) — Chicken feet have become a staple on dim sum menus and a popular street snack, but soaring prices threaten to put them out of reach for many Chinese consumers.
Wholesale prices of the delicacy have risen about 10% since Brazil halted chicken exports to China over the weekend in the wake of the Newcastle outbreak, according to Qinbaowang, a food industry website. While China produces chicken feet, a waste product in many countries, it relies heavily on supplies from abroad. It imported about $2.3 billion worth of chicken last year, with more than 40% coming from Brazil.
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Poultry product prices have risen by about a third since the start of 2022, according to data from Beijing’s Xinfadi agricultural market website, with chicken feet now more than twice as expensive as regular wholesale poultry meat.
The growing popularity of this delicious dish—which has become a staple at hot noodle restaurants—is one reason it’s so expensive. Chefs have also developed new varieties, such as fried chicken feet made with tiger skin or boneless chicken feet flavored with lemon, which are also rich in collagen, which promotes healthy skin.
A series of outlets specializing in chicken feet have sprung up in China in recent years, and producers of semi-cooked foods have begun supplying them to meet growing demand from the restaurant industry, according to local media reports.
The Brazilian ban is the latest example of a supply shock that has also helped drive prices higher in recent years. Customs data shows that the global bird flu outbreak contributed to a 20% drop in Chinese imports last year, followed by a 25% drop in the first half of 2024.
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The growing popularity of chicken feet has enabled them, at least for now, to buck the trend of Chinese consumers, hurt by a deepening economic recession, forgoing more expensive foods. But the Brazilian ban may be the last straw, with local media reports and social media showing people complaining they can’t afford them.
Much will depend on whether Brazil can quickly contain the outbreak. The country is the largest supplier of all chicken products to China, accounting for about 60% of imports in the first half of 2024. About a fifth of those imports were chicken feet.
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This week’s diary
Wednesday, July 24
- CCTD’s weekly online briefing on Chinese coal, 15:00
Thursday, July 25
Friday, July 26
- China Gold Conference and Exhibition, Shanghai, Day 1
- Weekly iron ore stocks at China port
- Weekly commodity inventory on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, ~15:30
Saturday, July 27
- China Gold Conference and Exhibition in Shanghai, Day 2
- China’s industrial profits for June 09:30
Sunday, July 28
- China Gold Conference and Exhibition in Shanghai, Day 3
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