In less than two decades, chicken wings have gone from being little more than leftovers to starring in menus around the world. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the demand for this dish has increased so much that there is now a global shortage of chicken wings, affecting the pockets of customers, vendors and restaurants.
In June 2019, long before booking, the chicken wings were priced at around 47.96 pesos per kilo. A year later, in June 2020, already in the midst of the epidemic, they reached 49.62 pesos per kilo, which represents an annual increase of 3.46%.
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Last June, chicken wings reached a record price of 62.10 pesos per kilo, which represents an increase of more than 25% Chicken Shortages in the USA. In other words, the accumulated increase in two years was almost 30%.
In comparison, the annual price of chicken breasts rose 17.9%, while the price of legs and thighs rose 11.9%, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics.
Why is there a shortage of chicken wings?
The explanation for the scarcity and high cost of chicken wings is found in the famous “law of supply and demand” and in basic mathematics. Chickens only have two wings, and if they are consumed more than the rest of the pieces, there will be a rapid shortage of wings and a greater supply of other parts of the chicken, which will increase the price of the most sought-after chicken. . after the product.
The epidemic has changed the situation in the poultry industry. It must be taken into account that chickens only have two wings and no more chickens can be produced because the rest of the pieces (breast and legs) did not raise their demand to the same level. I hope that the markets will eventually find their equilibrium, ”explained Arturo Calderón, executive director of the National Union of Farmers (UNA).
Gustavo Barazza Miller, COO of Grupo HEMA, which operates the Buffalo Wild Wings chain in Mexico, pointed out that the shortage of chicken wings is a global problem, “because there is no capacity on the planet to cover this situation.”
There is already a shortage of chicken wings in many areas of the United States and Canada. In the case of Mexico, the shortage occurred in several places, particularly in the state of Nuevo León. In addition, the United States reduced its wing exports to Mexico to meet its own domestic demand.