Advertisement
Advertisement
Food and agriculture
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
Pigs at a farm in Carambei, Brazil. Photo: Reuters

Brazil’s pork, chicken exports expected to grow in 2020 as China swine fever disruption persists

  • Brazil’s 2020 pork exports may grow by at least 15 per cent next year, local meat industry group forecasts
  • A fall in Chinese production of pork will drive demand for other products including chicken, industry group says

Brazilian food processors are poised to boost pork and chicken exports in 2020 as Chinese demand for imports remains strong while it deals with severe disruptions in local production, an industry group said on Thursday.

While an outbreak of African swine fever affects pork supplies in China and other Asian countries, a fall in production of that type of meat will also drive demand for other products including chicken, said the Brazilian Animal Protein Association (ABPA), which represents pork and poultry producers in the Latin American nation.

ABPA forecasts that Brazil’s 2020 pork exports may grow by at least 15 per cent next year to 850,000 tonnes. This year exports are estimated to have jumped 14.5 per cent to a projected 740,000 tonnes, driven by sales to China, Hong Kong and rising shipments to Russia, Chile and Vietnam.

Projected Brazilian chicken exports could grow to as much as 4.5 million tonnes next year, a 7 per cent rise from the upper range of 2019 export projections of 4.2 million tonnes, ABPA said.

Pork vendor stalls at a market in Beijing on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

The potential rise of Brazil’s meat trade underscores the lasting effects of the sanitation problem in China, which is the world’s largest producer of pork with annual output of about 54 million tonnes.

Ricardo Santin, who will preside over ABPA beginning in April, said that Brazil’s chicken trade is also forecast to strengthen in 2020, by sales to China as well as by expectations that Mexico will eventually renew Brazil’s chicken import quota.

He also said that companies and the government are coordinating efforts to increase chicken exports to India, which bought its first consignment from Brazil this year.

Tariff shock: Brazil’s leader learns friendship with Trump isn’t real

Talks aimed at reducing Indian meat import tariffs and expediting issuance of import licenses should kick off in January during a state visit of Brazilian government officials to India, Santin said.

Brazilian chicken cuts are assessed a 100 per cent import tariff and whole chickens a 30 per cent levy to enter India. Pork imports from Brazil to India are authorised but have yet to commence, Santin noted.

Pork for sale is seen at a Walmart in Beijing on September 23. Photo: Reuters

The swine fever outbreak in China has reduced domestic pork production by an estimated 13 million tonnes in 2019, affecting global supplies and trade in all proteins, according to ABPA.

China will need around five years to restore internal pork supplies after the outbreak of the disease, which is harmless to humans but fatal to the animals, ABPA said.

Between January and November, Brazil increased pork exports to China by 51 per cent to 218,000 tonnes, according to ABPA data. Chicken exports to China rose by 28 per cent to 513,000 tonnes over the period, it said.

Post