São Paulo – Brazil ended 2019 with a 2.8% growth in poultry exports. Shipped volume reached 4.122 million tonnes. In revenue, the sector also saw growth from the previous year, at 6.4%. Overall sales grossed USD 6.994 billion. The figures were made public by the Brazilian Animal Protein Association (ABPA) this Tuesday (7).
Chinese purchases drove the growth. The pork crisis has impacted the demand from China, which took the lead as Brazilian poultry’s top foreign destination.
The Asian country imported 585,300 tonnes, up 34% from 2018. “It’s the largest volume ever exported to China since the market was opened up in 2009, and it saw a noteworthy increase in late 2019,” ABPA executive director was quoted as saying in a press release.
Saudi Arabia, which lost its lead as top importer from November onwards, imported 469,760 tonnes, down 3.7% from the previous year.
The United Arab Emirates, the fourth largest buyer of the product from Brazil, imported 34,100 tonnes, up 10% from the previous year. APBA also stressed in the release the performance of another Arab country, Yemen. The nation increased its imports of poultry from Brazil, reaching 105,900 tonnes, up 24% from 2018.
“The exports flow, especially to Asia and the Middle East, is expected to keep strong in 2020. The animal protein international market is especially impacted by the Asian demand,” ABPA chairman Francisco Turra was quoted as saying in the release.
December
The month of December saw exports of 391,900 tonnes, up 11.2% year on year. It was the 2019’s best monthly performance. Also in December, the revenue climbed 9.6% year on year, to USD 636 million.
Only in this month, Chinese purchases grossed 72,000 tonnes, up 94% year on year. In the month, Saudi Arabia received 40,000 tonnes of the product from Brazil, and the UAE 25,000 tonnes.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda