May 28, 2007

 

Brazil's Perdigao sees long term 5 percent export growth

 

 

Brazil food company Perdigao (PDA) should see exports expanding by an average of 5 percent in the long term, Chief Financial Officer Wang Wei Chang said Friday.

 

Chang told investors during a JP Morgan conference call that 2007 export figures would be an anomaly in comparison with future exports because of the year's comparison with an overall poor performance in 2006. Last year, Brazil's main chicken exports saw reductions in export profits because of bird flu in its main markets in Europe and the Middle East, where Brazil chicken has a majority market share.

 

In the first quarter of 2007, Perdigao exported US$752.4 million in food, most of it raw chicken meat, up 48 percent from the year-ago period, according to the company's May financial report.

 

Chang said the 5 percent figure going forward is a conservative estimate.

 

"The current export market is very good for Brazil," Chang said.

 

"Some countries in the Middle East that were expecting to return to their normal production levels after the bird flu outbreaks are realising that corn prices are making it difficult for them to reactivate production as quickly as we had all expected," he said.

 

"Chicken prices have gone up all over the world because of corn meal. Those higher prices are good for Perdigao," Chang said.

 

He said chicken prices were rising from around US$1.30 per kilogramme to around US$1.80 per kg for fresh, whole chicken.

 

Perdigao is one of Brazil's top food companies. Perdigao purchased the Plusfood Group in Holland this week to expand its distribution of frozen food items in Europe.

 

Brazil is the world's leading chicken and beef exporter.