News
🟦 Introduction
In 2025, China’s duck and goose markets are experiencing notable fluctuations, characterized by soaring prices, reduced farming activity, and a tightening supply. While this might seem unrelated to the world of badminton, these changes have a direct impact on the supply of natural feathers, especially for manufacturers of high-grade feather shuttlecocks.
This article presents a market-based analysis of how poultry price dynamics impact shuttlecock production and pricing globally.
🟦 1. Duck & Goose Price Surge: A Snapshot
According to industry reports released in mid-2025:
✅ Duck Market Overview
Water duck prices rose by 83.33% over two months, from approximately. $0.84/lb to $1.54/lb.
Native meat duck prices increased 53.85%, reaching $0.98/lb.
Ducklings (day-old) range from $0.20 – $0.28 per bird, depending on the region.
Duck eggs now sell for around $0.52 – $0.59/lb, with low-end prices occasionally dipping below $0.56/lb.
In regions like Guangdong, various processed duck types are priced as follows:
Muscovy duck (female): $0.97/lb
Muscovy duck (male): $0.77/lb
White duck: $0.71/lb
Native black meat duck: $0.78/lb
Black meat duck (67 days): $0.78/lb
Young ducks: $3.22 – $3.92 each
Cull ducks: $1.33 – $1.47/lb
✅ Goose Market Overview
Live adult geese are priced at $1.19 – $1.33/lb.
Goslings are selling for $1.23 – $1.54 per bird, depending on the breed.
Goose eggs in northern cities like Beijing cost $1.54 – $1.68 each.
Market-ready meat geese:
100-day white goose: $1.22/lb
110-day black meat goose: $1.30/lb
120-day premium meat goose: $1.65/lb
🟦 2. Supply Chain Pressure: What’s Driving the Change?
📉 Production Volume Drop
Between 2019 and 2023:
Duck output dropped by 660 million birds
Goose output declined by 110 million birds
This reduction stems from shifting post-COVID consumer demand and persistently low pork prices, making duck/goose farming less attractive.
📈 Rising Feed Costs
Feed ingredients like corn and soybean meal remain expensive, pushing up farming costs:
For reference, feed cost per pound of egg output is now $0.43/lb
Since geese eat more and grow more slowly than chickens or ducks, their production is more heavily affected
🟦 3. Regional Volatility and Seasonal Impact
Southern China (e.g., Guangdong, Guangxi) shows sharp price increases due to smaller-scale, scattered farming and reduced supply.
Northern regions (e.g., Shandong, Hebei) maintain more stable prices thanks to large-scale industrialized farms.
Seasonal demand spikes—especially during summer BBQ season and festivals like Dragon Boat Festival—are expected to drive further short-term price increases in Q2 and Q3 2025.
🟦 4. Impact on Feather Shuttlecock Industry
For shuttlecock manufacturers—particularly OEM factories supplying global badminton brands—this poultry market volatility leads to:
⚠️ Feather Shortage
Goose and duck feathers are by-products of meat production. Reduced slaughter rates mean fewer quality feathers.
Top-grade goose feathers are becoming increasingly rare, raising feather prices by 15–30%.
⚙️ Manufacturing Cost Pressure
Raw feather procurement costs are rising, and lead times are lengthening.
Factories are forced to source feathers from multiple provinces to maintain supply continuity, increasing logistics costs.
🪶 Quality vs. Cost Trade-Offs
Many brands now substitute duck feathers for goose in mid-range shuttlecocks to cut costs.
However, duck feathers often have shorter durability and lower consistency in flight, affecting performance in competitive settings.
🟦 5. Outlook for the Shuttlecock Industry
➤ Short-Term:
Expect feather prices to stay volatile through Q3 2025.
OEMs may pass cost increases onto clients or adjust product tiers accordingly.
➤ Long-Term:
Brands may seek more stable feather supply contracts or even invest upstream.
R&D into synthetic feather alternatives may continue, though performance still lags behind natural feather shuttlecocks.
🟦 Conclusion
The current fluctuations in China’s poultry market are a critical signal to the global badminton industry. For importers, brands, and tournament organizers, it’s essential to understand the upstream conditions impacting shuttlecock cost, quality, and availability.
Staying ahead means adjusting procurement strategies and forecasting costs more proactively—especially as raw material markets remain unpredictable.
