Cooked white turkey meat, or deli meat, distribution in the marketplace grew 6 percent in 2009 to more than 467 million pounds, according to National Turkey Federation’s (NTF) 2009 Marketplace Survey, with nearly half (43 percent) being distributed to foodservice operations.

AgriStats Inc., a statistical research and analysis firm, conducts the survey for NTF every two years revealing turkey product distribution information. The 2009 survey represents more than 6 billion live pounds of product.

“The growth of cooked white turkey meat in the marketplace is a reflection of its versatility and excellent nutritional profile,” says Sherrie Rosenblatt, NTF’s vice president of marketing and communications. “Not only is it delicious in between two slices of bread, but it’s also a great addition to soups and salads and can be extended into breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”

The survey reveals that the top three turkey products produced are whole birds (more than 1 billion pounds), cooked white meat (more than 467 million pounds), and ground turkey (more than 415 million pounds).

About 41 percent of the turkey volume sold goes to the retail sector. Whole birds make up 51 percent of the volume distributed to supermarkets, followed by ground turkey (19.5 percent) and bone-in breast (7.9 percent).

The foodservice sector receives about 18 percent of the turkey volume. The top three products distributed in the foodservice industry are cooked white meat (30.5 percent), sliced deli meat (21.7 percent), and other raw turkey meat, such as breast cutlets and mignons (14.6 percent).

To further the industry’s knowledge of how turkey products are distributed, both in terms of distribution and types of products sold, the 2009 Marketplace Survey enables the industry to determine what type of products are sold and which channels offer processors the most growth potential.