Nan-Dirk Mulder, senior global specialist animal protein with Rabobank, notes that for the general market outlook for 2023, the focus will shift to the operational side.

2020 was quite the year for everyone, both on a personal and professional level. While we would like to put it behind us and return to the old normal, I think as an industry, we will continue to see lasting effects of the pandemic well into 2021.

As chaotic and tumultuous as 2020 was, it did bring some good news to the meat processing industry. Consumers did not lose their appetite for meat when the Coronavirus pandemic closed down restaurants. 

The Greatest Gains chart is designed to showcase the companies that have shown the strongest growth over the past year. These are not necessarily the largest companies in the country; several of them did not make the cutoff for the Top 100 Report. However, their successful years deserve to be mentioned as well.

Typically, the Top 100 serves as a good indicator of how the industry has performed, and what the expectations were for the coming year. If the industry is going through strong periods, we will see record sales, acquisitions, expansions and other initiatives.