Why the price of chicken wings has taken flight

For many, they have been a pandemic comfort food,as well as some of the first meals eaten with friends when pubs and restaurants opened up this summer.

While chicken wings may look deliciously simple on a plate, serving them has become a more complex and pricey proposition recently.

In the wake of higher prices for poultry, chicken feed andcanola oil not to mention the vagaries of international shipping restaurants say dishing out this pub favourite is becomingmore expensive.

As restaurants have reopened, a tight market has developed for wings and had some businesses hustling to make sure they can get all the supply theyneed.

Canadian chicken production is increasing, however, which thesector expects willimprove the availabilityof wings.

"I have been predicting or expecting that wing prices would be declining for about the last six to 12 months, and they keep on going higher," said livestock market analyst Kevin Grier."They have defied gravity."

Wing prices rise

Chicken wings, of course, aren't alone in facing inflationary pressures these days.But they do illustrate some of the challenges the pandemic has created forthe food industry and supply chains.

"Can you imagine what a wing night on Tuesday is going to be like with no wings?" said Rob Dobrowolski, owner of Bonzzini's Brew Pub in Regina.

It's a funny question fora restaurant that's beenflush with wings recently, but it's something Dobrowolskihas been pondering.

WATCH | Restaurant hopes local supply will save it from potential chicken wing shortage:

Wing nights feel price pressures due to tight supply

3 years ago

Duration 2:25

There's been talk about global shortages for chicken wings, and while Canada hasn't had that issue, demand is still testing supply. Restaurants say it's having an impact on prices as they deal with higher costs in general.

"One of our suppliers already said they won't have wings until December," said Dobrowolski, who buys imported wings.

"Right now, wings are still available, but they definitely went up in price."

Dobrowolski said the price of his last order was up 20 per cent, and he thinks it could go higher still.

Prices vary, however, depending on theagreements that chains orrestaurants have with their suppliers. Smaller restaurants may face more price volatility.

Steven Erlich of Toronto-based Duff's Famous Wings said theirwing orders have largely been met, though prices have crept upwards. He said his suppliers were facing challenges last monthbut thatinventory seems to have become "a little bit more stable" recently.

Katie McKenzie, president of B.C.-based Wings Restaurants & Pubs, said that in the last six to eight months, they've seen a roughly 30 per cent increase in raw material costs.She pointed to rising chicken feed costs as one of thekeyfactors in why she's paying more.

Industry figures provided to CBCNews indicate that wholesale wing prices were up about 14 per cent per kilogram in mid-August compared withthe same month a year agoand up 35 per cent from August 2019.

This comes during what some call a tight wings market one driven by strong demandbut which has also been influencedby external, even internationalfactors.

Pandemic production shift

Early in the pandemic last year, public health restrictions saw many restaurants close andCanada's food industry had to make adjustments.

Consumershoppingat grocery stores surged, including purchases of chicken.But it wasn't enough to make up for the gap left by food service, like restaurants. InCanada, about 40 per cent of chicken production is for food service,says the Chicken Farmers of Canada (CFC).

NPD Canada, which tracks food service industry trends, said restaurant sales of chicken wings have fallen by around five per cent over the last 18 months, althoughtheir popularity as a takeout item has helpedgrow their share of the overall food-service basket of goods over that same period.

Chicken production was scaled back by about 10 to 12 per cent for the spring-summer period of 2020, said the CFC's Lisa Bishop-Spencer. Now, as restaurants opened back up and demand strengthened further, chicken production has also rampedback up.

(Canada's chicken industry uses a supply management system where farmers, processors and members of the restaurant business meet every eight weeks to decide how much chicken to produce, according to market demand.)

Through the remainder of this year, chicken production is going to be higher than it was in 2019 and 2020, industry officials told CBC News.

"That's the good news for those who find market conditions a bit tight right now, or prices to be a little bit high," said Jean-Michel Laurin of the Canadian Poultry and Egg Processors Council.

"But one thing that's not going to change is that chickens only come with two wings."

In other words, the sector can'tproduce excess chicken just to meet domestic wing demand. To satisfy that particular appetite, Canada also imports wings.

But that's had its hurdles this year, too.

The U.S. and Brazil connection

The United States and Brazil, the world's largest exporter of frozen poultry, have also had issues in recent months that had an effecton the availability of wings.

A surprisingly hard winter storm that hit Texas and nearby states had an impact on chicken flocks. At the same time, the American appetitefor the pub delicacy was sky-high.

A long-time market watcher, Grier said U.S. demand for wings has been "off the charts."

"We haven't been able to get our hands on them because they've kept them there and prices are high," Griersaid. He also pointedout that Brazil has had logistical issues, which observers link in part to an international shortage of shipping containers.

More broadly, some raisedthe spectre this summer of aglobal shortage of chicken wings, though industry officials and analysts say Canada has not had shortages.

Customersareback ... but costs are up

Charlene Pellerin, ownerof the Calgary establishmentMug Shotz Sport Bar & Grill,said navigating the ups and downs of the pandemic was "very challenging," but people were lined up out the door of her restaurant again this summer.

Thebar, knownfor its long list of homemade sauces, has been selling more than 1,100 kilograms of wings per week and didn't have problems securing them from a local processor.That's the good news.

They are also paying more for things like plastic gloves, food and fryer oil, which she said has almost doubled in cost. The combination of those factors saw the restaurant bump up prices.

Meanwhile, hiring more employees hasn't been easy.

"My husband and I have had to jump back in as staff members to make things work, and we're just continuing to get busier and busier," Pellerin said.

Still, she is pleased to see customers return.

"It's been a huge roller-coaster ride during this pandemic, but we've seen the other side of it," Pellerinsaid. "Demand for wings that's right back to where it used to be."