For the current year to the end of October, the Brazilian Association of Animal Protein ABPA reports that the nation’s chicken meat exports have reached 4.38 million metric tons (mmt). Including fresh and processed products, this represents a year-on-year increase of 2%.
At almost US$8.18 billion, revenue from the trade is 1.5% lower the same point of 2023, when the year-to-date figure was just over US$8.30 billion.
Much-improved monthly figures for October reported by ABPA have driven these year-to-date results.
Last month saw Brazil export a total of 463,500 metric tons (mt) of chicken products. This represents a year-on-year increase of 15.4%, while the trade generated revenue 25% higher than a year ago at US$904.4 million.
Leading importer of Brazilian product is China, and exports to that nation were 53,500mt — over 30% higher than in October of 2023. Other important destinations from the trade last month were Japan (39,900mt), Mexico (35,000mt), the United Arab Emirates (UAE; 31,100mt), and the Philippines (24,600mt). Only the volume destined for the UAE was lower than 12 months previously. The other countries increased their imports of Brazilian chicken by 19% or more, and shipments to the Philippines were up almost 74%.
These were among the strategically important markets for Brazil, as they import value-added chicken products.
“This is the case of China, Japan, and the European Union, with double-digit growth in the month,” said ABPA president Ricardo Santin. “Part of the significant growth in revenue in October is due to this trade movement.”
He said that the global poultry market is under pressure as a result of outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza. As the Brazilian poultry industry is free of the disease, its products are in high demand, said Santin.
Within Brazil, the leading poultry-exporting state is Paraná, which accounted for 41% of the nation’s total exports for October. With the exception of Rio Grande do Sul, all the main exporting states achieved year-on-year increases in exported chicken compared with the same month of last year, according to the ABPA.
Future prospects for Brazilian chicken exports
The latest figures from the European Commission agriculture department put Brazil as the world leader in poultry meat exports, with a volume of close to 3mmt for the first seven months of 2024. Next come the U.S. with around 2mmt, and the European Union (EU) with a little over 1mmt for the same period.
Prospect of a possible free trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur (which includes Brazil) in the coming months is being met by strong opposition from some quarters.
Meanwhile, Brazil and the U.S. are also reported to be working together for free trade.
