Brazil slaughtered 8.35 million heads of cattle in the third quarter, an increase of 4% compared to the previous quarter and 0.5% versus the same period last year, reported the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) this Tuesday- fair.
Production reached 2.16 million tons of beef carcasses in the period, an increase of 8% compared to the second quarter and 2.1% compared to the same quarter of the previous year, according to the first results of the Livestock Production Statistics survey .
Slaughtering and production of poultry and pork meat also increased during the period, although the cattle sector registered greater growth compared to the second quarter, noted the IBGE.
The increase in meat production in Brazil, the largest global exporter of beef and chicken cuts, is being driven mainly by demand from China and other Asian countries, noted researcher Sergio de Zen, responsible for animal protein research at the Center for Advanced Studies in Applied Economics (Cepea), from Esalq/USP.
“China, not just China, but countries in Southeast Asia are draining all the protein they can there. But we have to note that the global economy, the US and Europe, are in a growth phase, small, but they are growing,” De Zen told Reuters.
Although Brazil consumes the majority of its meat production, exports guarantee an important share of demand.
This Tuesday, the Minister of Agriculture, Tereza Cristina, announced that 13 more meat factories in Brazil were approved to export to the Chinese.
The day before, the government announced that Saudi Arabia had authorized eight new beef establishments.
Amid strong demand for beef exports, whose shipments reached a historic high in October, beef and meat prices are at record levels in São Paulo, an important thermometer for the Brazilian market.
The price of the arroba of beef cattle began an upward movement and surpassed the value of 180 reais for the first time in history, in the State of São Paulo, last Friday, according to data from Cepea. On Tuesday, it reached 183.30 reais, an increase of more than 7% in this month's total alone. In the year, the advance is more than 25%.
COMPLEX CONJUNCTURE
According to the Cepea researcher, in addition to demand, the beef sector is still experiencing a low supply of animals ready for slaughter.
“The animal is not confined or grazed, given that the rains were delayed compared to other years, it is a complex movement…”, said the specialist.
“There is a mismatch, animals with weight below (the ideal) begin to be slaughtered… With the expectation of an increase in price, producers begin to hold (animals), waiting for the animals to gain weight before being slaughtered”, he added.
PIGS AND POULTRY
According to IBGE research, pig slaughter totaled 11.67 million heads in the third quarter of 2019, an increase of 2.4% compared to the last quarter and 0.8% compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
The accumulated weight of pork carcasses registered 1.05 million tons in the third quarter, which consisted of increases of 3.3% compared to the immediately previous quarter and 1.1% compared to the third quarter of 2018.
With sales to Asia boosting business, the Brazilian industry recorded pork export revenue of US$149.6 million in October, the highest value for a single month in the last two years, according to data from the Brazilian Animal Protein Association (ABPA).
The chicken industry has also demonstrated strength, with slaughter totaling 1.47 billion heads in the third quarter of 2019, an increase of 3.3% compared to the previous quarter and 3.1% compared to the equivalent quarter of 2018, reported the IBGE.
The accumulated weight of chicken carcasses was 3.45 million tons in the period, an increase of 3.2% compared to the immediately previous quarter and 2.1% compared to the third quarter of 2018.
Source: agrolink
