April 17, 2012

Chile's meat productions had increased in the first month of 2012, compared to January 2011.

A significant increase in beef production was seen in Chile in 2012, breaking the downward trend which has been seen since April 2011. Beef production increased 15.2% to 16,629 tonnes at the start of the year. The Chilean herd seems to be retaining heifers for herd expansions, with 56% of cattle slaughtered being steers.

Poultry and pig production in January increased 9.5% and 6.3% respectively. Pig production has been growing steadily over recent years, thanks to an increase in production capacity, with more producers focusing on exporting pork products, rather than selling to the domestic market.

An increase in broilers and turkeys is responsible for the increase in poultry production, with turkey production increasing 10.5% in January 2012 compared to the same month the previous year.

It is likely that production of poultry and turkeys has increased due to more demand for lower priced proteins, as beef prices continue to remain high.

Meat exports in general seemed to be up at the start of 2012. Beef exports increased 2.5%, with a total of 364 tonnes exported. Much of this increase in exports went to Germany.

Pork exports were up 17.1%. Whilst South Korea and Japan are the main export markets, exports to China and Russia increased.

On the contrary, poultry exports fell marginally by 0.7% in the first month of the year.