Avian flu in the US and war in Ukraine boost Brazilian meat exports

In addition, due to the slow domestic consumption, the low purchasing power of the population, the solution for this sector was the foreign market, assesses Juliana, researcher at the Center for Advanced Studies in Applied Economics (Cepea/Esalq/USP). Feras. “As protein prices are increasing in the international market, the sector is benefiting in terms of export volume and revenue.”

Countries that consume halal products (foods that respect the rules of Islam) also strengthen the demand for Brazilian chicken. “This is another positive factor. Halal slaughter has given the country a lot of popularity abroad. We already had this integrated market, but now the demand has increased a lot because of the war in Ukraine,” says Sepia analyst. Additionally, South Korea and Mexico strengthened purchases. In the first half of the year alone, they have already received 72.3% and 78.3% respectively of all the poultry they imported from Brazil last year.

Irineo da Costa Rodrigues, president of the Poultry Products Union of Paraná State (Sindiavipar), is taking advantage of market opportunities and selling its poultry products in the absence of major players such as Brazil and Ukraine. . The absence of bird flu cases in Brazilian territory lends credibility to the sector, according to Rodríguez. “Also, we have the capacity to serve the entire foreign market as well as the domestic market, despite the high end of production costs,” he pointed out. This high cost scenario for the poultry farmer and the industry, according to him, is softening with the arrival of the second maize crop which is in full harvest.

Currently, Brazil is the number one exporter of poultry and the second largest producer in the world. Ukraine, in turn, until before the war, exported 460,000 tons of chicken meat a year – only 10% of what Brazil sells abroad annually. Luis Rua, market director of the Brazilian Association of Animal Protein (ABPA), notes that Ukrainian exports are concentrated in three important markets: the United Arab Emirates, the European Union and Saudi Arabia. “They’re very relevant to Brazil, but they’re markets where we’ve been losing ground in recent years,” he says. Now, with the conflict in Eastern Europe, Brazil is expanding sales there.

According to Rua, the lack of production in the Middle East has increased protein prices on the international market, while production costs in Brazil have increased. However, it is important to point out that in the case of Ruwa, despite the increase in the export rate of protein, “broad” production is still destined for the domestic market.

João Campos, CEO of Seira – the JBS brand for chickens and pigs – says Brazilian chicken stands out for its competitiveness, quality, sustainability and health monitoring. “The main points of the company’s partnership with integrated manufacturers”, he observes. According to Campos, demand remains strong this year regardless of the specific circumstances in other producing countries. BRF, another exporter in the Brazilian poultry and pork sector, declined to comment on the matter.