Exports have grown by 5.5 per cent in the first eight months of this year compared with the same period in 2014. In all, 2.82 million tons were shipped in the period January-August 2015.

In revenue, the picture is also positive, with the results totalling 15 billion Brazilian Real, a performance 25.3 per cent higher than in the same period last year. In the foreign exchange results, there was a decrease of 7.7 per cent, with a total of $4.85 billion.

"The balance of the last three months was nearly 200 tons higher compared to volumes shipped in the same period last year. The strong export performance promoted a 'downsizing' and an adjustment in domestic supply, impacting positively on product pricing and thigh cuts and others," explained Ricardo Santin, vice president of poultry for ABPA.

In keeping with the positive results recorded in the last three months, shipments carried out in August reached 382,400 tons, a number 12.2 per cent higher than the total obtained in the eighth month of 2014.

In Real, the balance was improved by 46.7 per cent based on the same comparative period, reaching 2.29 billion. For revenue in dollars, there was a decrease of 5.3 per cent, totalling $651.5 million.

"As in previous months, we found in August rises in exports for almost all destinations.

"As a result, we find that the decline in purchases recorded in various importers during the first months of the year, as a reaction of the international market to outbreaks of avian influenza in North America, are overcome," said the chief executive of ABPA, Francisco Turra.