Chicken

Chicken divides commercially into four products that behave nothing like each other, and treating them as one category is the most common mistake in this trade.

Breast is the premium line and the one where a loose specification costs the most, because bone-in against boneless, skin-on against skinless, the weight band and whether the tender travels with it produce a wide range of prices under the same three words. Added solution sits underneath all of that: product carrying retained water is a different quantity of meat, and an offer that does not state it cannot be compared with one that does.

Leg quarters are a price-led volume trade where the cut point and the weight band are what make a quoted price mean anything. Wings are a foodservice product bought on cut and size band, where whole, two-joint and portioned are distinct goods. Whole birds are bought on weight band, and on presentation decisions such as head-on or feet-on that are ordinary in Asia and unusual in Canada.

Almost all of it moves frozen, so the freezing method, piece separation and carton configuration decide what a kilogram is worth on arrival more than the headline price does.

Canadian production is supply-managed, which shapes export availability, and destination eligibility is confirmed before commercial terms are worth writing.