According to the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA), the volume of poultry exported was down 5.1 per cent from 1.90 million tons to 1.81 million tons. The average price for the period was US$2,132 per ton, up 13.7 per cent.

The main item exported by the sector with a 94.4 per cent share, was the chicken meat in natura, ending the period with US$3.64 billion (up 9.4 per cent) and 1.73 million tons shipped (down 4.5 per cent). Offsetting the decline in trading volume, the average price increased by 14.5 per cent, from US$1,836 per tonne to US$2,101 per ton.

The three main destinations for Brazilian exports of chicken meat remained unchanged between the first half of 2012 and the first six months of 2013. The top importer of Brazilian chicken meat during the first half of this year was Saudi Arabia, with a figure of US$751.49 million or 19.5 per cent of total exports. Japan ranked second, importing 14.2 per cent of Brazilian chicken, followed by the European Union (EU-28), with 8.4 per cent of imports.