Brazilian chicken meat exports up 20% in January

Chicken meat exports from Brazil reached 349,100 tonnes in January, up 19.7% year-on-year, thanks to China and a significant increase in purchases from the Arab Emirates, which almost doubled, as reported by the The Brazilian Association of Animal Protein (ABPA).

Revenues from overseas protein sales amounted to $616.9 million, up 42% on the previous year.

China, Brazil's biggest importer of chicken meat, increased its purchases by 4.6% to 48,300 tonnes in January, as reported by Reuters.

"However, the main source of growth is the second major importer, replaced by the United Arab Emirates, which imported 42,800 tonnes in January, up 96.6% from the first month last year," the association said in a statement.

Another market that increased imports was the European Union, with purchases up 53.5% to 18,100 tonnes, the data showed.

ABPA president Ricardo Santin said the country's increase in January was due to higher meat prices caused by strong upward pressure on production costs.

 "Despite the higher price, Brazilian chicken meat is still in high demand due to a characteristic such as product quality. It is also in demand due to the fact that Brazil is the only major exporter whose chicken meat has no traces of avian flu," he said.

According to ABPA, countries in Europe, Asia and Africa are facing bird flu outbreaks and the situation is critical, especially in the European Union, which increases the competitiveness of the Brazilian product in the international market.