There are 6 turkey producers in the province plus many on a smaller scale who in total produce approximately 200,000 kg (eviscerated) of turkey. Newfoundland does not participate in the National Supply Management System for turkeys; therefore, production quotas are not required here. The main market is at Thanksgiving and Christmas when demand for fresh product is high.

There are many opportunities in this province including:

• With no quota, individuals are free to produce at their own level.
• The fresh market at Thanksgiving and Christmas commands relatively premium price and is expanding as quality becomes recognized.
• The introduction of Provincial Meat Inspection has allowed several growers to establish their own abattoirs and provide inspected product for direct and retail sales.
• Consumer reaction to the high quality of local turkey has been very favorable and growers are increasing their market share.
• The retail market is responding well to further processing of meat. Several growers are branching into cut-up turkey carcasses as well as developing various other turkey meat products.

The industry also faces many challenges:

• The high cost of imported feed grains must be addressed.
• The fresh market at Thanksgiving and Christmas commands relatively premium price and is expanding as quality becomes recognized.
• The relative premium price at holiday time is on a limited volume, because general retail prices are very low at that time.
• In order to maintain price, sales are often direct to consumer, which lowers exposure to the market.
• Turkey is most often viewed as a frozen product, and therefore consumers are exposed to product from many outside competitors.
• With higher cost of production, it can be expected that production will continue to be supplementary to other ventures.