Rio de Janeiro – Livestock slaughter grew 4.6% in the third quarter of this year, in comparison with the previous three-month period. There was also growth, of 1%, compared with the same period of last year. In total, 7.216 million heads of cattle were slaughtered from July to September 2009.
The data are part of the Quarterly Animal Slaughter Survey, issued today (17th) by the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (IBGE). According to the document, the result “confirms expectations of the industry’s recovery,” which started in the second quarter this year, after a sequence of retractions that started in the third quarter of 2007 was interrupted.
The increased slaughter of livestock, according to the document, occurred due to increased domestic market consumption. “In the third quarter, large beef industry groups purchased plants that had been shut down due to the international crisis, mainly in the states of Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso,” according to the text.
Mato Grosso remains the leading producing state in the country, accounting for 15.4% of slaughters in the country. Next on the list are São Paulo (12.2%) and Mato Grosso do Sul (10.9%).
According to the document issued today by the IBGE, chicken slaughters have also recovered and grew 8.5% over the figure recorded in the previous quarter. In comparison with the period ranging from July to September 2008, there was growth of 1.4%. In the third quarter of this year, 1.267 billion chickens were slaughtered. Activity was stronger in the South Region (60.5%), and the state of Paraná remained in the lead (26.1%).
The survey also reveals that swine slaughter grew both in comparison with the previous six-month period (10.4%) and with the previous quarter (6.8%), and totalled 8.103 million animals. The result consolidates the product’s trend of growth, even in a year of financial crisis and with the emergence of the influenza A (H1N1) – swine flu. Activity concentrated in the South Region (68.2%), mainly in the state of Santa Catarina (27.7%). The state of Paraná, however, was the state in which swine slaughter grew the most: 293,703 animals more than in the third quarter of 2008.
Data concerning milk purchases and milk processing show that industrial plants bought 4.898 billion litres in the third quarter of 2009. The result is 4.7% higher than recorded in the same period of 2008, and 14.1% higher than in the second quarter of this year. Minas Gerais was the state that purchased the largest amount (26% of the total).
Chicken egg production totalled 637.064 million dozens. There was growth of 10.5% compared with the same period of last year, and of 9.7% compared with the previous quarter. The state of São Paulo remains at the forefront of production, having accounted for 32.3% of the total.
The survey also shows that there was growth of 5.2% in purchases of raw bovine leather compared with the same period of 2008. In comparison with the previous quarter, there was growth of 11.8%. In all, 9.121 million units were bought from July to September. Together, the states of São Paulo, Mato Grosso, Rio Grande do Sul and Mato Grosso do Sul purchased 58.1% of the total.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
