In terms of volume, exports of poultry and pig meat so far in 2017 have fallen behind last year’s figures, according to the Brazilian Association of Animal Proteins (ABPA). For both product groups, however, the value of the trade in U.S. dollars is higher than for the same period in 2016.
Meanwhile, one of Brazil’s smaller poultry companies is set to make the country’s first shipment of organic chicken to the Middle East.
ABPA reports that total chicken meat exports (raw and processed) by Brazil for the first five months of this year amounted to 1.750 million metric tons (mmt), which is 5.6 percent less than for the same period of 2016. The value of the exported products was up 9.0 percent at US$2,968 billion.
At 239,700 metric tons, pork shipments were down 3.3 percent for the January-May period compared to 2016, but this year’s trade was worth 30 percent more at US$598.7 million.
For both chicken and pork products, trade was lower in both volume and value in May than in the same month of 2016.
ABPA chief executive, Francisco Turra, commented that the country’s poultry industry is still recovering from adverse publicity of Brazilian meat products that resulted in allegations known as “Operation Weak Flesh.” Furthermore, he said, exports were particularly strong during the second quarter of 2016.
According to Ricardo Santin, ABPA's Vice President of Markets, the negative impacts of these allegations were even more significant for the Brazilian pork sector as Chinese importers sought alternative sources.
The current month’s exports look likely to be hit by recent severe storms, which interrupted operations at Brazilian ports for several days.
Brazilian organic chicken destined for the Middle East
Organic chicken producer, Korin, is set to ship its first products to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) next month. According to Brazil-Arab News Agency (ANBA), the firm is the first in Brazil to explore the potential of Middle East markets for organic poultry meat.
Based in Sao Paulo, Korin launched its first poultry that had not received any antibiotics as long ago as 1994, and these remain at the core of its product range. Stocking density is lower than in standard production systems and there is no artificial lighting at night, and birds have access to pasture during the day.
The firm’s export program started in 2014 and last year, it shipped 8 metric tons of products to Hong Kong.
