Brazil exported the equivalent of US$669 million in poultry in July, a 3.8 per cent increase in comparison with the same month of last year. The volume shipped, however, dropped by 13.8 per cent and totalled 320,800 tonnes. The information was disclosed yesterday (11 August) by the Brazilian Poultry Union (Ubabef), according to ANBA.

Francisco Turra, the executive president of Ubabef,said in a statement: "Apart from the fact that July 2010 was an exceptional period, sales-wise, the low dollar [exchange rates] during the month has contributed to the decline, as did the seasonal drop in consumption in the European continent and some other markets, the Russian embargo on Brazilian poultry and the international crisis that has affected the economies of wealthy countries."

Year-to-date, foreign sales revenues reached US$4.67 billion, a 24.3 per cent increase over the same period of 2010. The volume shipped, however, grew by only 3.4 per cent, in the same basis of comparison, and reached 2.24 million tonnes, which points to an increase in the price of the product.

Ubabef stated that from July last year until the same month of 2011, production costs increased, not to mention the depreciation of the dollar against the Brazilian real, which made the Brazilian product more costly abroad. The price of one 60-kilogram bag of maize grew by 38.4 per cent during the period, and the price of the bag of soybean meal rose by 1.1 per cent. In turn, the United States currency dropped by 13.1 per cent.

In the first seven months of the year, the Middle East remained the leading target region for Brazilian poultry, having imported 828,200 tonnes for a total of US$ 1.57 billion. Next come Asia, the European Union, Africa, the Americas and other European countries.

Ubabef also disclosed egg export figures. A total of 8,200 tonnes were shipped from January to July, a 53.2 per cent decline compared with the same period of 2010. Export revenues reached US$14.6 million, a 44 per cent drop using the same basis of comparison.