The Brazilian poultry exports yielded US$ 199 million in January, which represented a 20.53% increase in relation to the same month in 2004. The country shipped 187,000 tons of the product, 16.6% more than in the same period last year, according to information released today by the Brazilian Poultry Exporters Association (Abef).
The main buyer countries of Brazilian poultry were Japan and Saudi Arabia.
The equivalent to US$ 39 million was exported to the Japanese market, an increase by 67% in comparison to January last year.
For the Arab country, the sales yielded US$ 33 million, which represented an increase by 57% over the same period in 2004.
According to the Abef, the entity’s expectations for 2005 are that as well as the tendency for an increase in prices, there is also an increase in the volume exported, due to the opening of the market in China, the end of the Russian embargo to poultry and the opening of new markets in Malaysia, Chile, south Korea and Mexico.
Last year 2.470 million tons of poultry was shipped, which represented a 26% increase in relation to 2003. In terms of revenue, there was an increase of 44%. The Middle East was the region that bought the most in terms of volume, a total of 750,000 tonnes.
Exports to the Middle East rose 22% in terms of volume and 33% in terms of revenues when compared to 2003. The Middle East was the first destination in terms of shipped volume, but Asia led the ranking of main markets in terms of revenues.
The countries in the Middle East purchased 750,000 tons of Brazilian chicken meat. ‘It is a very important market for Brazil,’ stated Julio Cardoso, the president of the Abef. In 2005, sales to the region should continue rising.