São Paulo – Brazilian poultry exports increased in volume, but revenue was down in quarter one this year from the same period in 2013. According to figures released this Monday (14th) by the Brazilian Animal Protein Association (ABPA, in the Portuguese acronym), exports amounted to 950,200 tonnes from January to March this year, up 0.4% from January to March 2013. Revenues were down 11.5% to US$ 1.832 billion.
According to the ABPA vice president for poultry, Ricardo Santin, the revenue dropped due to the appreciation of Brazil’s real and to a hike in the price of maize, the industry’s main input. Still, the executive said, the performance was good for the period.
“The result is good because we have managed to export a higher volume than in early 2013. Revenues were lower, partly due to the exchange rate, but we have broken even. We want to see revenues go back up, but overall, our assessment is a positive one, we are within the target range,” said Santin. He noted there was an oversupply of product in the Middle East last year.
In March, the industry exported 332,300 tonnes, up 0.2% from March last year. Revenues stood at US$ 640.9 million, down 14.3%.
Out of all poultry products, which include chicken, eggs, ducks, turkeys, mallards, genetic material and fertile eggs, chicken meat accounted for 95.5%. Chicken meat exports fetched US$ 1.705 billion in Q1, down 11.5% from Q1 2013. The volume shipped was 907,300 tonnes, up 0.7%.
The Middle East remains the leading Brazilian poultry export target area. From January to March, 332,000 tonnes were shipped to the region, down 4.6% from the same period last year. Exports to Asia, the second leading target, were up 7.5% to 270,500 tonnes. Sales to Africa increased by 1.7% to 125,300 tonnes.
Sales to the European Union were down 0.8% to 101,000 tonnes. Exports of Brazilian chicken meat to the Americas amounted to 58,800 tonnes (up 6.1%), exports to non-European Union countries in Europe amounted to 18,900 tonnes (down 7.4%) and 536 tonnes were shipped to Oceania (up 18.6%) in Q1 this year.
Egg exports saw a decline in revenues and volume. According to the ABPA, in Q1 this year 3,700 tonnes of eggs were exported, down 26.8% from Q1 2013. Revenues stood at US$ 5.2 million, down 41.5%.
According to Santin, egg sales dropped because of higher domestic sales. “Eggs account for 1% of industry output, therefore minute changes in demand and sales have an impact on exports,” he said. The ABPA was founded in March this year to replace the Brazilian Poultry Union (Ubabef) through the merging of the Brazilian Association of Pork Manufacturing and Exporting Industries (Abipecs), which have since become extinct.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
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