Thus, Brazilian chicken exports (considering all products, both fresh and processed) reached 316.9 thousand tons in February, representing an increase of 2.2% compared to the same period last year. According to ABPA (Brazilian Animal Protein Association), Brazil shipped 310.2 thousand tons of chicken in February 2018.
However, revenue for the second month of 2019 is 6.3% higher than the previous year. It was US$$ 526 million this year, compared to US$$ 494.9 million in February 2018.
However, in the two-month period, chicken exports reached 598,700 tons, 6.6% lower than the 640,700 tons shipped in the same period last year. In terms of revenue, two-month sales reached US$$ 979.1 million, 3.6% lower than the US$$ 1.015 billion generated in 2018.
China's leading importer
Thus, the main highlight of the month is China, which took the lead among Brazilian export destinations in February. Although the Chinese market imported 38,800 tons in the period, its purchases increased by 11% compared to the second month of 2018. Excluding the two-month period, sales to the Chinese market increased to 5%, with 72,500 tons.
Therefore, South Korea, which recently authorized four more poultry export plants, also increased its purchases. Even so, the increase reached 24% in the month, with 8.2 thousand tons. In the two-month period, the increase is 6%, with total shipments of 15.6 thousand tons.
Below is a list of the main destinations for chicken meat exports in the two-month period. During this period, Saudi Arabia remains the main export destination.
“Initially, the health situation in Asian countries, such as China, resulting from outbreaks of African Swine Fever, put pressure on demand for various proteins in large markets in that region," analyzes Francisco Turra, president of ABPA. "Thanks to this, overall revenue from Brazilian exports showed a better level of growth than the balance in volumes," he adds.
RANKING COUNTRY VOLUME (THOUSAND TONS) SHARE
1 SAUDI ARABIA 74,705 12,8%
2 CHINA 72,517 12,4%
3 JAPAN 58,669 10.0%
4 UAE 56,687 9.7%
5 SOUTH AFRICA 40,331 6,9%
6 EUROPEAN UNION 35,582 6.1%
7 HONG KONG 25,912 4.4%
8 YEMEN 18,332 3.1%
9 KUWAIT 17,791 3.0%
10 IRAQ 16,461 2.8%