January 23, 2008

 

Brazil's 07 chicken exports rise 21 percent to 3.3 million tonnes

 

 

Brazil's fresh chicken exports rose 21 percent in 2007 to 3.3 million tonnes, the Brazilian Chicken Exporters Association, ABEF, said Tuesday.

 

The sector brought in US$4.9 billion in export revenue last year, up 55 percent from 2006.

 

ABEF expects chicken exports to rise again in 2008, this time by roughly 8 percent in volume.

 

The association said that corn prices should continue rising in 2008, squeezing margins for the country's chicken exporters. Corn is used to feed chickens.

 

ABEF also said that it expects the Middle East to dominate the segment's whole chicken exports and for Japan to be the principal importer of chicken cutlets.

 

In 2007, around 30 percent of Brazilian chicken exports were shipped to the Middle East, followed by Asia at 25 percent.

 

Saudi Arabia imported 380,000 tonnes of chicken in 2007, followed by 357,000 tonnes going to Hong Kong and 332,000 tonnes to Japan.

 

EU markets make up 17 percent of the industry's export volume, with the Netherlands being the main port of entry for Brazilian chicken, importing 246,000 tonnes in 2007.

 

Overall, the country exported 1.8 million tonnes of chicken cutlets, an increase of 12 percent on-year. Whole chicken exports totaled 1.1 million tonnes, up 23 percent from 2006 volume. Finally, processed chicken meats, including cooked-proteins such as chicken nuggets and sandwich meats, was 155,000 tonnes in 2007.

 

Brazil is the world's leading chicken exporter.