The production of the animal feed industry in Brazil registered an increase of 4.1% over the first half of 2010 and produced 31.4 million metric tons from January to June 2011, according to Sindirações.
“The driving force once again was the industrial poultry sector which required nearly half of all production of the semester, despite the fact that principal raw material used in animal feed, corn, has appreciated 60 % since June of last year,” said Dr. Ariovaldo Zani, CEO of the Brazilian Feed Industry Association.
Broiler
The poultry industry has maintained strong growth and added more than 6% in the first half as well as consumed about 15 million metric tons of feed. The continuous dollar devaluation was supposed to inhibit the amount of chicken exported, but by June, chicken shipping totaled nearly 2 million metric tons and international revenues reached $4 billion.
Layer
The consumption of feed for laying hens showed moderate progress and reached only 2.5 million metric tons in the first half, aligned to 39 million housing laying chicks. The 60% increase in corn prices pressured egg producer profitability, since its price increased only 17% from June 2010 through June 2011.
Beef cattle
The segment of beef cattle feed produced almost 1.3 million metric tons during the first half of 2011 with a growth of 6.5% over the same period of 2010. The price for live cattle has remained high since last year and producers have invested in breeding and better nutrition along the first six months, despite a drop of more than 17% in the number of cattle slaughtered as well as temporary restrictions of beef exports to Russia.
Dairy
The growth above 8% over the first half of 2010 as well as consumption of 2.6 million metric tons of feed for dairy cattle from January through June 2011 is the result of chasing productivity gains. Milk yielding has been growing more than 4% yearly and it is going to exceed 30 billion liters by the end of this year, despite the continued importation of powdered milk. The activity also has faced the strong appreciation of the ensiled forage as well as concentrates carrying corn on their composition.
Swine
Despite the 11% growth in pork export revenues, the amount exported in the first half dropped to 267,000 metric tons, mainly because of the Russian embargo imposed over Brazilian producers. Stability in the breeding herd and housed pigs resulted in consumption of 7.6 million metric tons of feed from January through June 2011.
Pet food
The production of pet food fell 1% in the first half of this year and reached 1.1 million metric tons compared to the same period of 2010. Although dogs and cats are generally considered true members of contemporary families, spending on them may have suffered as other, higher cost household expenditures took place in the first part of the year.
