Planet chicken.

• Position: Meat for the masses - Statistical table

Poultry should pass pork as the worlds most popular meat by 2020. What will that mean for North Carolina, where more than 20,000 people work in the industry?

Pecking order

Number of chickens in N.C. in 2014 versus other creatures

817 MILLIONS CHICKENS

28.5m turkeys

9.9m people

8.8m hogs

800,000 cattle

Chicken little

Last year, owners of even the smallest backyard coops were required to register their birds to help avoid avian flu.

More than 3,500 small and backyard farmers are now included in the registry.

Poultry sums

Value of the state's poultry export market

2000 $89.2m 2015 $307.5 MILLION But 2015 was a turkey of a year: Sales declined 25% from the previous year because many countries restricted U.S. imports over the threat of avian flu. Nationally, bird flu cost U.S. chicken and turkey producers $3.3 billion last year. North Carolina is wary of potential outbreaks.

Source: N.C. Department of Agriculture

Chicken tonight?

Global meat production rose by almost 20% over the last decade, led by growth in poultry and pork. But chicken is forecast to come out on top, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization.

World meat consumption 2014 (tons) Source: OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook (Edition 2015) Pork 116,802 Poultry 108,587 Beef 67,642 Count your chickens

North Carolina chicken exports totaled $230.7 million in 2015 to about 80 countries. Biggest customers:

1. Hong Kong

2. Japan

3. Taiwan

4. Kazakhstan

4. Georgia

Developing countries are also key markets, including Honduras, where exports soared.

Honduras 1,000%

Other unexpected markets for N.C. chicken include Cuba, thanks to normalization of relations with the U.S., and Africa, due to improved shipping options. "You can have a grower in rural North Carolina, and he touches almost every corner of the world," says Peter Thornton, director of international marketing for the N.C. Department of Agriculture.

Another upside of exporting is the fact that dark meat and other cuts unpopular in the U.S. fetch high prices overseas. In China, for example, chicken feet sell for as much as the preferred breast meat here. The popular side dish drove more than $170 million in sales from the U.S., according to the USDA. But the U.S. will...