Angola Develops Appetite for Tennessee Chicken

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State exports to Angola are up 200 percent this year, making the African nation Tennessee’s fastest growing export market. The growth is due to one product: frozen chicken.

Angola is in the midst of an economic boom, mostly due to oil production. The country is also trying to rebuild after nearly three decades of civil war, and its agriculture sector lags far behind. That means Angola has to import most of its food.

MTSU economist Steven Livingston says developing countries will try to shop around for the best price, which likely explains Angola’s sudden appetite for Tennessee chicken.

“It’s not like looking at the chemical industry, where it’s pretty much the same thing to the same country every quarter. So, I guess we’ll have to wait a few quarters to see if this is establishing beachhead or if this is going to be another one big sale and out type situation.”

Each year, Tennessee exports more than $70 million in poultry. So far, Angola’s share of that is about $5 million.

Read more on Angola’s economy in this article from The Economist.