According to statistics from Brazilian Association of Animal Protein (ABPA), total exports (fresh and processed) were 2.433m tonnes, up 5.8% year-on-year. In value terms, the sector's sales rose 10.8% in 2019, with total revenue of US$4bn. In 2018, shipments generated $3.675bn during the same period.
"The average volume and revenue exports of 2019 outperforms the overall performance of the previous year, which is a positive indicator for the year's final balance," said Francisco Turra, ABPA's president.
The average exports in 2019 (January to July) is 347,600 tons, higher than the 341,700 tons of 2018 (January to December). In the last three months (May, June and July 2019), sales remained above 380 thousand tons.
Exports for July were down year-on-year. During the month, Brazilian chicken meat shipments reached 387.6 thousand tons. This was 16.4% lower than the 463.5 thousand tons registered in July 2018, which was the largest monthly volume ever recorded by chicken meat exporters.
‘Hot international market’
The rise was attributed to rising prices and resurgence in demand for Brazilian poultry meat.
“The international market is hot, and prices are rising. Again we recorded average values above $1,700 per ton. For comparative purposes only, the average price of 2018 was US$1,600 per ton,” said Ricardo Santin, ABPA's executive director.
China was the main destination for Brazilian chicken meat, in July it imported 52.7 thousand tons, an amount 15% higher than shipped in the same period last year. Mexico, the largest importer in the Americas, received 14.07 thousand tons, up 3% year-on-year.