World meat industry news

Brazil has witnessed a drop by 16% in its pork export in the first three months of 2018 compared to the corresponding period from 2017, according to the latest analysis released by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board.

According to AHDB analyst, Bethan Wilkins, the decline appeared as a result of Russia's ongoing restrictions on Brazilian pork imports, seeing that Brazil used to ship 40% of its fresh/frozen pork to this country.

Still, the impact of the Russian ban on the Brazilian pork exports was somewhat minimised by an increase in demand for pork from China and Hong Kong.

"At 70,400 tonnes (+ 80% year-on-year), pork exports to these destinations accounted for over half of the overall traded volume during the quarter. This is twice the market share of the previous year," the AHDB analyst said.

Wilkins adds that Brazil is expected to witness further export growth on these markets in the coming months as it will benefit from the ongoing trade war between China and the US. Other exporters might also increase their pork supplies to China if the country will maintain its 25% import tariff on US pork.

"However, competing on the Chinese market may still prove difficult, as Chinese domestic pork prices are currently very low, and EU pork will also be aiming to maintain or grow market share," Wilkins said.