Americans will devour more than 1.42 billion chicken wings during the Super Bowl weekend

With this forecast, the chicken wing market hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic recovers from a year with great movement. In the U.S., the chicken wing consumption is mainly controlled by the sports calendar. The NFL’s Super Bowl and the NCAA’s “March Madness” Tournament in February and March, respectively, move indicators up, while the price and consumption decline the rest of the year. However, at the beginning of the pandemic, a marked decrease in consumption was observed because of restaurants’ closure, game cancellations, and consumer provisioning. It generated a surplus of wings in the following months that led to a considerable reduction in prices, reaching less than $1 per pound. Last month the price was around $2.50 per pound, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Food retailers have shown growing concern due to a possible shortage days before the game. In this regard, the Georgia Poultry Federation also indicated that an increasing wings demand could produce this shortage.

On the other hand, NCC spokesman said in a statement that “chicken production remained steady in 2020“ and that “wings remain hot, proving to be a pandemic-proof food“. Yet, a cold storage reduction of 24% at the end of the last year suggests that food retailers and restaurants stocked up in months the big game. Some fast-food chains have offered great promotions for this Sunday. Buffalo Wild Wings announced that if the game goes into overtime, customers across U.S. and Canada can redeem six free chicken wings. Also, Applebee’s will be giving away 40 wings in orders above $40 with an estimation of 1.6 million boneless chicken wings.

If you plan to have chicken wings for this weekend, go ahead and make your order soon !!