Brazil's chicken exports total US$945.5 million for Jan to Apr - BRAZIL - Brazil's chicken export sales for January to April totalled US$945.5 million with a volume of 868,349 tonnes, according to the Brazilian Chicken Exporters and Producers Association (Abef). The average price for chicken was US$1,089/tonne compared with US$1,085/tonne last year.

Whole chicken exports rose 20.07 percent to US$305.68 million compared to the same period last year while chicken cut exports climbed 26.23 percent to US$591.73 million. Volume exported saw an increase of 30.41 percent to 513,019 tonnes.

Processed chicken exports rose 48.12 percent to US$48.18 million, as compared with 2004. Volume of processed chicken was 22,372 tonnes, an increase of 57.13 percent.

Chicken exports for April registered the best performance with a total of US$259.8 million, and volume at 232,915 tonnes.

Despite the improved performance, the exporters were concerned about the exchange rate of the US currency, which has lost 7 percent of its value against the real. The loss in competitiveness of Brazilian produce is further weighed by widespread crop failure in Brazil.

Source: eFeedLink - 10th May 2005