Analysis Chicken & Poultry
Brazil chicken meat export recovers despite floods
Despite the flooding in mid-May, Brazilian chicken meat exports increased in that month, as shown by data from the Brazilian meat sector association (ABPA). In fact, the result for May was the second strongest of the year. This continues the recovery of poultry meat exports since April.
Compared to May 2023, Brazilian poultry meat exports increased by 4.2% to 451,000 tons. However, the value of the exports decreased. Global poultry meat prices were significantly higher last year due to bird flu issues. In May, Brazil exported $818.7 million worth of chicken meat, a decrease of 5.6% compared to the previous year.
Export weak at the beginning of the year
This shows recovery in the Brazilian poultry meat sector. The export was weak at the beginning of the year, barely exceeding 400,000 tons during that period. From January to May, the country exported 1.4% less poultry meat. In total, the country exported 2.15 million tons of chicken meat. The last two months saw exports rise to around 430,000 tons. If the Brazilian poultry meat sector maintains this pace, a slight growth for the first half of 2024 is still possible.
Despite the floods, the exports increasing does not mean that the Brazilian poultry sector is not affected. The total exports from the affected Rio Grande do Sul decreased by 11.4% to 56,400 tons. However, other major producing states managed to compensate for this. Particularly, production in the state of Parana grew significantly by 11.2% to 198,900 tons. Additionally, Santa Catarina saw a 2.2% increase in exports to 89,600 tons, and exports to São Paulo increased by 4.9% to 25,400 tons. Finally, exports to Goias increased by 15.4% to 22,900 tons.
Exports to main export market China decline
Brazil manages to achieve such a strong result while the Asian markets are not very favorable to the Brazilian poultry sector. The export volume to China decreased by 49,800 tons in May. China remains the main export market. The export to Japan also decreased by 15.4% to 32.2%. This is a decrease of 23.6% compared to April 2023.
The lower exports were offset by strong performances in exports to the Middle East. The second most important export market was the United Arab Emirates, where Brazil exported 39,600 tons of poultry meat, an increase of 22.2%. Iraq also proved to be an important importer, importing 24,000 tons, an increase of 35.5%. Neighbor Saudi Arabia also imported significantly more meat. The total exports from the country amounted to 37,500 tons of poultry meat, an increase of 31.2%.
