June 19, 2008

Brazil's May chicken exports up 31 percent on-year, revenue up 69 percent

Brazil exported 361,000 tonnes of chicken in May, up 31 percent from May 2007, the Brazilian Chicken Exporters Association, ABEF, said Wednesday (June 18, 2008).

Higher volume and higher chicken prices have pushed up May revenue by 69 percent to US$685 million.

From January to the end of May, Brazil shipped 1.5 million tonnes of chicken to world markets, 18 percent above the same period last year.

Chicken cutlets represented the bulk of exports. Cutlets totaled 198,000 tonnes in May, up 25 percent from the same period last year, and amounted to 828,000 tonnes in the January-May period, up 13 percent from the a year ago.

Whole chicken exports for May totaled 130,000 tonnes, up 29 percent on the year, with Jan-May exports at 524,000 tonnes, up 11 percent over the same period in 2007.

The Middle East remains the top destination for Brazilian chicken products, totaling 469,000 tonnes in the first five months of the year, up 18 percent.

Europe was a distant second, with 233,000 tonnes, up 4 percent on the year.

ABEF expects Brazil's chicken export volumes to be up 8.6 percent from 2007, reaching 3.6 million tonnes while revenues should rise 8.3 percent to a new record of US$5.3 billion .

Meanwhile, ABEF is asking to include corn and soy in the country's tax exemption program. Corn is the leading animal feed in Brazil. Wheat was included in a tax exemption programme this year, eliminating social security taxes earlier this year in an attempt to lower prices for livestock farmers.