Brazilian pork exports strong in 2021

The latest data shows a 13% rise in Brazilian pig meat exports (including offal) during 2021, totalling 1.27 million tonnes.

Although China/Hong Kong constituted just over half of the total export market, a range of destinations contributed to the overall growth. Shipments to the Philippines were four-times higher over the 12 months, reaching 33,300 tonnes. Meanwhile, trade with Venezuela trebled compared to 2020, totalling 40,900 tonnes.

Trade with China/Hong Kong totalled 687,100 tonnes, only slightly higher than the year before. Shipments were constrained by falling Chinese import demand as their domestic production began to recover last year. In fact, by the fourth quarter, this trade was nearly 30% below year earlier levels. This meant that the uplift in 2021 trade was biased towards the first half of the year. Overall exports in the final quarter were only 6% higher than the year before, at 305,000 tonnes.

The overall positive performance was influenced by a number of factors. Depreciation of the Brazilian real has helped the competitiveness of Brazilian product on international markets. Increasing production and slow recovery in domestic demand has also led to increased availability of product for export.

In 2022, further export growth has been forecast for Brazilian pig meat, with some expectations of Chinese import demand picking up again later in the year although there is much uncertainty surrounding this. The latest USDA forecast (from October) anticipates a 7% growth in Brazilian pork exports this year, supported by a 3% increase in production.

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