São Paulo – In May, chicken export revenues rose. According to information disclosed on Wednesday (5) by the Brazilian Poultry Union (Ubabef), sector foreign sales totalled US$ 766.4 million, growth of 6% over the same period in 2012. There was, however, a 0.4% reduction over April this year, when exports totalled US$ 770 million. In terms of volume, shipments totalled 343,900 tonnes, 8.3% less than in May 2012.
In the accumulated result for the year, export revenues totalled US$ 3.46 billion, 6% more than from January to May 2012. The volume shipped in May was 5.7% lower than in the same period last year and totalled 1.584 million tonnes.
In a press statement disclosed by the Ubabef, the organisation’s president, Francisco Turra, stated that in May, the average performance of chicken and chicken product shipments was constant. The executive pointed out, however, that in May 2012, the totalled shipped, 375,000 tonnes, was record for the period. This helped result in a greater reduction in volumes shipped in the same period this year.
Great importers of Brazilian chicken, like Japan and Saudi Arabia, imported less in May. However, the reduction in purchases by these countries was already expected as both bought more than average in recent months. “Positively, stocks were high,” said Turra.
The president at the Ubabef stated that the greater revenues obtained with exports of chicken should be attributed to the European Union’s greater imports of slated chicken, as, on 30th June, the region concludes its 2012/2013 quota year. This is the period in which the volume to be shipped into the region in the next quota-year is defined. He also attributed the growth to “late” transfers of production costs in 2012.
*Translated by Mark Ament
