November 18, 2005

Brazil's Jan-Oct chicken exports rise to 2.4 million tonnes

Brazilian chicken exports rose to nearly 2.4 million tonnes in the first 10 months of 2005, an 18 percent leap over the same period a year ago, according to data released Thursday by the Brazilian Chicken Exporters Association, or ABEF.

Export revenues also jumped in this period to US$2.86 billion, a 33.5 percent surge over the year-ago period.

Meanwhile, exports for the month of October grew to 259,763 tonnes, up 16 percent over the same month a year ago, while revenue for the month vaulted to a record US$351.8 million, up 54.5 percent over October 2004.

The principal buyer of Brazilian chicken by volume was the Middle East, which bought 700,359 tonnes of chicken from January to October this year, up 14 percent from the same period in 2004. Revenues totalled US$758.8 million, up 38 percent from the same period a year ago.

However, Asia was the top buyer by revenue, importing some 622,011 tonnes of Brazilian chicken in the first 10 months of the year, an increase of 20 percent. The value was US$808.3 million, up 30.5 percent year-on-year.