World largest poultry meat producer, Brazil, exported no fewer than 662, 300 tonnes of poultry meat to Africa in 2021, the Brazilian Association of Animal Protein (ABPA) has said.
According to ABPA, poultry exports from the Latin America country rose 9% by volume in 2021 to a record 4.6 million tonnes, as diversifying destinations offset a drop in shipments to top importer China.
Brazilian poultry exports to Middle East countries shrank 0.3% last year, ABPA said, while to Africa they rose 19.2% to 662,300 tonnes. 193,200 tonnes of products were shipped to the European Union, an increase of 13.2%.
South Africa remains one of the top importers of poultry meat from Brazil with 13.3 per cent of the 4.6 tonnes shipped to the country behind China, Japan, United Arab Emirates respectively.
ABPA reported that poultry export revenues totaled $7.66 billion last year, an increase of 25.7% over 2012.
In 2021, Brazil shipped 1.64 million tonnes of poultry to Asia, up 0.5% annually, despite a 5% drop in imports from China.
China’s sales drop was offset by higher sales to Japan and the Philippines, ABPA said.
“Despite the slight decrease (in 2021), China remains the top destination for Brazil’s poultry exports and is expected to retain this position,” ABPA’s head Ricardo Santin said.
The Brazilian poultry sector expects to maintain its market share of global exports in 2022, citing health-related issues affecting some competitors.
In recent months, highly pathogenic bird flu has been spreading rapidly in Asia and Europe, putting the industry on alert after previous outbreaks led to the culling of hundreds of millions of birds.
According to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), 15 countries have reported outbreaks of bird flu in poultry, mostly the H5N1 strain.
Japan and the United Arab Emirates are expected to remain Brazil’s top clients, according to ABPA.
