In the first seven months of the year, however, industry shipments remained 7.85 per cent higher than the same period of 2015, reaching 2.628 million tons.

In revenue, last month's exports generated a balance 21.2 per cent lower than in July 2015, but export value in the year so far was 13.33 per cent higher than the same period in 2015.

"Purchases declined in certain import markets for fresh products in the Middle East and Asia. This is a direct result of high production costs, which influenced the increase in international prices this year," said Francisco Turra, chief executive of ABPA.

Pork shipments also showed a decline in July, exporting 4.8 per cent less compared to the same period last year, but exports are still 42.2 per cent higher over the year so far in comparison with the same period last year.

"The main monthly drop in shipments occurred to Russia, about 50 per cent. At the same time, China and Hong Kong have maintained the pace of shipments. The sector has managed to reduce dependence on a single market [Russia], increasing the share of other exporters in the overall balance," said Ricardo Santin, vice president of ABPA.