Brazilian pork exports continue to recover, reaching 118.1 thousand tons in August (fresh + processed), a monthly historical record, favored by the attractive prices of the Brazilian product in the international market and the increase in purchases from Asian countries. Direct competitors such as the USA and the European Union have high prices at the moment compared to last year, as a result of productive adjustments. Meanwhile, prices in the interior of Brazil still find it difficult to rise consistently, which is bad, keeping margins deteriorated, but on the other hand ends up attracting demand, which helps to reduce domestic availability.
Some countries that were not historically relevant in the purchase of Brazilian pork, such as the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, are emerging at the top of the main destinations. These countries still suffer from the effects of African swine fever. The first point that drew attention in August exports is the increase in Chinese imports, with 49.2 thousand tons, which corresponds to a 41.7% share of the total. It had been almost a year since Brazil sent similar volumes to China. It is worth paying attention to the process of devaluation of the yuan, the Chinese currency, which benefits the country’s trade balance, that is, exports gain strength, and imports become more expensive. If the real continues to appreciate, the tendency is for Brazilian pork to lose its attractiveness in China. The USDA attaché updated the projections for the Chinese market and reduced the country’s import numbers for 2023, which will be discussed later.
The second largest importer in August was the Philippines, with 11.571 thousand tons and a share of 10.13%. Hong Kong imported 8.521 thousand tons, with a share of 7.46% in the month. Thailand bought 4.821 thousand tons, with a share of 4.22%. Regarding expectations around Canada, so far they have not been confirmed, with imports close to 50 tons only.
As for the average price per ton exported by Brazil, it dropped for the second consecutive month, reaching USD 2,313.55, returning to the level registered in May. August’s total revenue was USD 273.3 million, the best level of the year, favored by the large volume of shipments.
With the result of August, the volume exported in 2022 reached 706.663 thousand tons, a decrease of 4.55% from 740.432 thousand tons registered between January and Aug 2021. The accumulated revenue in 2022 reached USD 1.583 billion, falling 11.16% compared to the accumulated revenue of USD 1.782 billion registered in the same period last year.