The USDA whole chicken wing market has declined just over 11 percent since peaking at the beginning of March which is usually accompanied with a surge in demand for the NCAA basketball tournaments. And this comes with one of the most entertaining bracket busting seasons for both the women and men. So what's the deal with the wing markets? Note that chicken wings have been trading at a discount to the chicken breast market since early last year.
As readers can tell, the discount in the bone-in wing market to chicken breast is about as normal as having three first timer teams in the NCAA men's final four. But part of this goes back to 2021 when wing prices averaged at record levels near $3 per pound and more than a buck above chicken breasts. The incentive at that time was to move away from bone-in wings to other protein features including boneless wings (think chicken breast). But look for that to change as the incentive has shifted. Wouldn't surprise me, my mother or Dick Vitale if wing prices climbed above breasts later this year. After all, bone-in wings are "Awesome Baby!"