Colombian Poultry Farming: Breaking Boundaries

In 2025, the Colombian poultry sector reached a production of 3.1 million tons of animal protein, representing an 8.3% increase. Of this total, chicken production exceeded 1.98 million tons, growing by 8.7%, while egg production, at 1.16 million tons (19.402 billion units), grew by 7.7%.

This allowed Colombians to reach a per capita consumption of 35.7 kilograms of chicken and 365 eggs per person per year—undoubtedly a factor contributing to poverty reduction. It is estimated that, of the total meat consumed in the domestic market, 55.2% is chicken, 21.0% is beef, and the remainder is pork (21.2%), while consumption of at least one egg per day has already been achieved. This growth in production allowed consumers to see lower prices for poultry products in the market.

In fact, the year-to-date CPI for chicken stood at 2.98% (lower than food inflation at 5.18%) and for eggs at -1.55%, respectively. This has been driven by production cost dynamics, due to lower grain prices on the international market and the dynamics of the TRM.

According to DANE as of November, the Producer Price Index for animal feed showed a 6.4% decline, with the price index for imported products such as corn and soybeans falling by 9.8% and 12.9%, respectively.

DANE’s most recent estimate indicates that the value of production in the poultry sector now exceeds $40.8 trillion, with intermediate consumption of $32.8 trillion, which includes raw materials and genetics, among other inputs.

These figures place the poultry sector among the most important in the country’s agricultural sector, ranking first in terms of revenue among formal economic sectors that pay income tax. It holds a similar position, according to DANE’s Supply and Use matrix, within the productive sectors with independent operations.

As a result, the poultry sector accounts for 0.42% of GDP and 17.48% of the livestock and meat industry sector. To reach the poultry sector’s current level of development, no effort has been spared in maintaining the country’s sanitary conditions, through the strengthening of an institutional framework, ranging from Fenavi’s technical capacity—supported by the National Poultry Fund—to coordination with the Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA) to implement the provisions of Law 1255 of 2008, which aims to preserve the country’s sanitary status.

Furthermore, environmental priorities are not overlooked, which is why the development of poultry farming in harmony with the environment is being promoted: water use and optimization, discharges, proper management of organic waste, odor control, and community engagement, among other aspects. This is reflected today in news that has made several headlines: Colombia exports chicken to Japan; Colombia exports eggs to Cuba and Central America; Colombia receives approval to export eggs for egg breakers in the United States. These trade developments implicitly highlight the world’s recognition of the technical production capacity of the Colombian poultry sector.

In 2025, 185 containers of eggs were exported, amounting to 64.7 million units. Additionally, exports of chicken to the Asian country began with a single container. Colombia is the only country in the world to hold the Poultry Sustainability Seal, which is increasingly becoming a mark of trust not only for the international market but also for the domestic financial sector.

In fact, two years ago, a green financing line was developed with private banks, which leads the credit supply for the sector; this initiative has gained greater impact through the Finagro Sustainable Productive Transformation Line under the category: Sustainable Poultry Farming, which has been in operation since the second half of this year, with notable results in loans totaling more than $550 billion aimed at the competitive modernization of the poultry sector; in sustainable poultry farming alone, this represents more than 15% of total credit disbursements, which exceed $3.7 trillion.

The development of the Colombian poultry industry demonstrates that Colombia has significant potential in the agricultural sector, not only to ensure a wide supply of food for the population at competitive prices but also to establish an export market. This potential must be developed by fostering an investment-friendly environment alongside business strengthening.