August 5, 2024

 

Chicken and pork processors in Brazil expected to produce, export record volumes this year

 

 

Brazilian chicken and pork processors are poised to produce and export record volumes of both meat in 2024, according to revised projections by meat lobby ABPA, which represents companies such as JBS and BRF.

 

Chicken production in Brazil, the world's top supplier, is expected to grow by up to 1.8% this year and reach 15.1 million metric tons. The outlook is also positive for pork processors, who are expected to increase output and exports due to the benign effects of lower pork production and exports out of Europe, ABPA said.

 

Chicken exports are projected to rise by as much as 2.2% to 5.25 million tonnes, even after a recent outbreak of Newcastle disease which triggered temporary trade bans that remain in place.

 

Chicken exports from the country are still blocked nationwide to countries like China, Mexico and Argentina. Regional embargoes on exports from Rio Grande do Sul, where the outbreak occurred, remain in place for sales to countries including Russia, Saudi Arabia, Bolivia, Peru, and Chile, ABPA said.

 

Brazil is expected to export around 437,000 tonnes of chicken products on average per month this year, according to ABPA data. Trade restrictions could affect sales of as much as 60,000 tonnes per month, the lobby said. However, Brazil can redirect shipments to minimise that impact, ABPA's president, Ricardo Santin, said.

 

The Brazilian government recently said the outbreak of Newcastle disease had ended but local meat processors are awaiting importers' approval to resume trade after the outbreak, which was isolated in southern Brazil.

 

"All of the countries received information about the end of the outbreak," said Santin, adding the industry hopes trade restrictions will be lifted soon.

 

For pork, of which Brazil is the world's fourth-largest supplier, exports could be boosted by much as 7.7% in 2024 to 1.325 million tonnes, ABPA said. It also noted that if China imposes dumping measures against European pork processors, Brazil, the United States and Canada could benefit.

 

Brazil's pork production this year will rise by 1%, ABPA said.

- Reuters