Chicken processing often involves conversations about boneless breasts, wings, legs, etc. These cuts represent the bulk of the products chicken processing companies look to when trying to maximize profit margins and meet customer demand. And while chicken feet, or paws, aren’t a ‘glamorous’ product in the United States, they play an important role in the business strategies of American processors.
The process
The process begins by first stunning the live bird, usually by CO₂ or electrocution and exsanguination (fatal loss of blood by slitting the jugular and carotid arteries with a spinning razor-sharp blade). After stunning, the bird is hung upside down in shackles by its feet, and the evisceration process begins.
A rotary knife or a mechanical process removes the legs and feet from the carcass either at the hock (the joint) or slightly underneath the hock area, depending on the specific processing methods of the facility.
Market oppurtunities
In the middle of 2024, Hallie Gu of fortune.com reported wholesale prices of chicken feet rose 10% after Brazil stopped chicken exports to China following an outbreak of Newcastle disease, according to food industry website, Qinbaowang. China does produce the delicacy in country but relies heavily on overseas supply. Its imports in 2023 were roughly $2.3 billion with over 40% coming from Brazil.
Between 2022 and into 2024, prices went up approximately one third, according to data from Beijing-based, agricultural market website, Xinfadi, which put chicken feet wholesale prices at more than twice the cost of regular chicken meat.
Chicken feet have grown more popular as ingredients in hotpot and noodle restaurants, which has led to the increase in price. Also, chefs have recently developed new varieties, such as lemon flavored, boneless chicken feet and tiger skinned fried chicken feet.
Leading up to 2024, chain outlets specializing in chicken feet began popping up in China and producers of partially cooked feet started supplying their demand, according to local media reports.
Prior to the Brazilian ban, global Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) outbreaks also contributed to a 20% decrease in Chinese exports in 2023, and customs data showed 25% in 2024.
Even though HPAI continues to pop up in concentrated bird populations with the consequence of some related limits on US exports to China, the outlook for the US export of chicken feet and paws is forecast to remain stable.
Rockville, Md.-based Marketresearch.com’s report, titled “Processed Chicken Feet Market Size, Share, and Outlook, 2025 Report — By Type (With Pickled Peppers, Others), By Application (Wholesalers, Traders, Distributors), 2018-2032” shows an optimistic outlook for the chicken feet and paw market, forecasting a 6.8% growth rate period from 2025 to 2030.
“The processed chicken feet market is a thriving business that is poised to keep growing and presents potential growth opportunities for companies across the industry value chain,” the report said.
Leading, global processed chicken feet companies have begun prioritizing investments across categories, markets and geographies with a focus on growth and resilience after a closer look at the global market for processed chicken feet identified shifting consumer preferences across categories.
The chicken feet sector was resilient in 2024 in both developed and developing economies and the market shows many opportunities to take momentum into 2030. However, the report added inflation and supply chain disruptions to potential added pressures on the global market.
Chicken paws are chicken feet with the bony structures of the foot removed. (Source: ©ณัฐวุฒิ เงินสันเทียะ - STOCK.ADOBE.COM)Market health
The Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) consists of reports delivered to the public from various US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Services (FAS) officers and staff at posts around the world. The “Poultry and Products Semi-Annual” published on Feb. 21, 2025, and prepared by FAS’s China staff reported the agency expects demand for US chicken paws to remain stable in 2025 regardless of higher domestic supplies and HPAI-related restrictions limiting imports.
International restaurateurs and food processors prefer US jumbo-sized chicken paws due to their high quality and size, and while FAS China did forecast stability, the HPAI-related restrictions limiting new US facilities from importing to China will lessen the quantity of exported US paws and restrict potential growth. The USA Poultry & Egg Export Council Inc. reported 2024 US exports of frozen raw chicken paws were 201,361 tonnes, down 40.5% from 2023 due to China’s HPAI ban on raw US poultry products.
Prices of US chicken paws also remained high in 2024 and saw many Chinese importers indicate struggling to source sufficient quantities of paws from the United States. This resulted in Brazilian and Russian exports of frozen paws gaining market share in 2024.
The export of heat-treated, US chicken paws has grown as an alternative to frozen, as heat-treated poultry from US facilities in areas with positive HPAI detections is permitted. According to China Customs statistics, US heat treated chicken paws exported to China in 2024 were 43,979 tonnes, up from 10,639 (313%). And imports in January 2024 to February 2025 were 17,056 tonnes, up from 3,138 tonnes (444%). However, new registrations of facilities in states with these restrictions did not happen in accordance with current protocols at the time of the report. Sources also indicate that heat processing chicken paws degrades the quality and appearance standards set by many restaurants.
The Marketresearch.com report noted that Europe is also a large market for processed chicken feet, with demand from both the eastern and western regions increasing in the medium to long-term future, as well as Canada and Mexico offering growth pockets for processors and vendors.
Taking action
Alabama poultry processor, AlaTrade, with locations in Albertville, Boaz and Phenix City, announced in 2024 the launch of a chicken paw heat-treating project at its Phenix City facility. AlaTrade expects the new project to drive company growth with substantial benefits to the regional and national economies.
In May of 2024, AlaTrade had already invested approximately $2.8 billion in time, resources and capital behind the project. The company’s goal for the project is to tap into the growing international market for paws, specifically the Chinese market.
Equipped with the necessary technology to meet the US Department of Agriculture guidelines and international food safety standards, the upgrades to the Phenix City facility provide the ability to heat treat the paws to a suitable level for export to China.
“This paw heat-treating line provides an additional anchor for our largest facility,” said Josh Whitley, president of AlaTrade. “We are in a period of change and growth in Phenix City and thrilled to be adding this process and partnering with Sure Good Foods to do it.”
The partnership with Sure Good Foods also includes Spice Lady. AlaTrade will thermally treat the chicken paws while Sure Good will handle the international food trade to ensure the food safety guidelines are met. Spice Lady will then take over the sale of the finished product in China.
The chicken paw project also brings economic benefits to the local community and the Alabama poultry industry.
“Poultry integrators from the surrounding area will be bulk packing paws for shipment to AlaTrade’s Phenix City facility for heat treating,” Whitley said. “Upon treatment, the paws will be packed for export and shipped to a local cold storage for blast freezing before being shipped by container to China.”
Technically different
Chicken feet and chicken paws are among the most sought after chicken parts in international markets, specifically the Asian markets. The terms paws and feet often get used interchangeably, but according to a LinkedIn article by Ghani Salman, director of purchasing, Commodities House at Zeus Commodities Group, London, England, there are differences between the two and they serve different market needs.
The differences between feet and paws derive from the processing and presentation of the product.
Paws refer to the lower part of chicken’s foot and exclude the hock (the leg joint above the foot). They are smaller, more fragile and typically have less bony pieces, making them more desirable in certain prized markets such as China, where they are considered a delicacy. The skin on paws is smoother and they are used primarily in soups and stews.
Feet usually include the hock, have more skin, tendons and bony structures. They are larger with more tissue to chew on and commonly used for dishes such as dim sum or braised dishes. They are also popular for their collagen content, believed to improve skin and joint health.
Both chicken feet and chicken paws are high-demand export commodities, especially in Asia where they are considered a gourmet food item.
