I
n late 2016, the Brazilian poultry industry
anticipates that the production of broiler
meat, main product of the sector, is like-
ly to fall short of the 13.6million tons pro-
jectedat thebeginningof theyear. Asa re-
sultoftheeconomiccrisisthataffectedBrazil,
along with high input prices, in early Decem-
ber the Brazilian Association of Animal Pro-
tein (ABPA) estimated the total volume at
12.9 million tons of broiler meat, down 1.8%
fromtheamount produced in2015.
“Lackofcreditlines,highinputpricesand
domestic economic crisis were determin-
ing factors for this drop”, says Francisco Tur-
ra, executive president at ABPA. The reduc-
tion was not bigger because of the excellent
performance of exports. Broiler meat is one
of the most affordable items for the popula-
tion. However, its consumption suffered the
impactfromthehigherunemploymentrates.
Furthermore, agroindustries faced credit
shortages andhigh interest rates.
The scenario started to improve at the
end of the year. The exchange rate, for exam-
ple, in the third quarter in 2016, sometimes
got close to R$ 3.50 to the dollar, value con-
sidered ideal for chicken exports. At year’s
end, corn prices also fell below R$ 40 per
60-kg sack, from upwards of R$ 60 in previ-
ous months. According to ABPA officials, the
pressureupon cornprices shoulddiminish in
2017, due tobigger cornsupplies inParaguay
and Argentina. Furthermore, imports from
theUnitedStateshavebeenauthorized.
In consequence, the availability of chick-
enmeatinthedomesticmarketshouldreach
8.47million tons, down4%fromthe8.84mil-
lion tons offered in 2015. Therefore, per cap-
ita consumption in the Country should also
drop at the close of 2016. Estimated at 41.1
kilograms per person, this percentage is
down 4.9% from the 43.2 kilograms per cap-
Brazilianpoultryindustryreducestheestimateofitschickenmeat
productionto12.9milliontons,down1.8%fromthepreviousyear
Smaller
portion
Poultry
ita registered in 2014. For 2017, ABPA sourc-
es estimate an increase from3%to5% in the
productionandexport of broilermeat.
Broilermeat exports in 2016 didnot keep
pace with the rhythm of the domestic mar-
ket.ABPAhadprojectedshipmentsabroadat
4.39million tons, up 2% from the 4.3million
tons sent in 2015. Revenue from shipments
should reach US$ 6.875 billion, down
4.1%fromthetotalofUS$7.169bil-
lion raked in in2015.
Broiler
meat
exports
reached 4.022 million tons
from January to November
2016, up 3%fromthe 3.904mil-
lion tons reached during the
same period in the previous
year. But revenue totaled
US$ 6.275 billion, down
4.44% from the results
achieved
in the same period in 2015. The internation-
al prices of the product began todrop gradu-
ally over the year. The lower prices stemmed
fromthe recoveryof theUnitedStates inpro-
duction and exports, after keeping under
control theoutbreaksof avian influenza.
Broiler meat represented the third-big-
gest value (7% of the total) of Brazil-
ian agribusiness exports in 2016, out-
stripped only by soybean (23%) and
by brown sugar from sugarcane
(10%). The South region in Brazil is
the leading producer of broilermeat
(more than60%of the total) and
is equally the biggest export-
er (76.66%). Brazil is the
leading broiler meat
exporter in the world,
and is also home to
the secondbiggest
volume.
Sílvio Ávila
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