Celebrated this Sunday, July 24, Swine Producer Day marks a moment in which Brazil’s swine industry is gradually entering a phase of stabilization and recovery, after experiencing one of the most critical periods in its recent history. This assessment comes from the Brazilian Animal Protein Association ABPA.

After nearly three years of positive momentum in exports and domestic consumption, Brazil’s swine sector has faced, since mid 2021, one of its most challenging periods. The accumulated and historic rise in production costs, a temporary reduction in international demand, and the domestic inflationary scenario with reduced consumer purchasing power challenged the sector to define new paths to restore the strength of the production chain.  

In the international market, following the stabilization of China’s import levels at volumes lower than those seen in 2021 but higher than in previous years, Brazil saw new opportunities emerge for national production. The most recent is Canada, with the opening of the market and the approval of eight processing plants.

“New players have gained strength in imports, such as the Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, and Argentina, allowing the country to maintain average monthly export levels above 90 thousand tons since March of this year. Considering the entire first half of 2022, the average shipments totaled 85 thousand tons. For comparison purposes, the average sales in the first six months of 2021 were 93.7 thousand tons, while in 2020 the first half average stood at 79 thousand tons,” analyzes Ricardo Santin, president of ABPA.

In the domestic market, the high competitiveness of pork has generated positive effects on consumption. According to ABPA, expectations point to growth compared to last year, gaining space previously occupied by beef on supermarket shelves. Investments in new product lines by companies have supported increased consumption of the protein.

“The competitiveness of the protein, however, has not been fully supported by production costs, which remain high. Corn and soybean meal, although at prices slightly lower than those recorded in 2021, still exert strong pressure on final costs for agribusiness companies and producers. In this scenario, diesel, plastic, cardboard, and other inputs have accumulated significant increases, reinforcing the challenge for producers. However, recent surveys show a slight reduction in cost pressure, with prospects of good input supply in this harvest, in addition to improvements already observed in trade with China and other relevant markets, bringing renewed momentum to our exports in the second half,” evaluates the association’s director of markets, Luís Rua.

Projections for production and exports of Brazil’s poultry and swine sectors for 2022 will be on the agenda of the virtual press conference that ABPA will hold next Thursday, July 28, at 10:00 a.m., via Zoom. During the conference, initial observations from the competitiveness study that will be launched by the Association during the International Poultry and Swine Show SIAVS will also be presented. SIAVS is the main event for the sectors in the country and will take place from August 9 to 11 in São Paulo. 

Sector Strategies at SIAVS - Leaders from across the sector will continue the debate on overcoming the critical situation of swine production during the International Poultry and Swine Show SIAVS, which will take place from August 9 to 11 at Anhembi Park in São Paulo.

From a strategic perspective, during the CEOs panel, leaders of the largest agribusiness companies in the sector will address a strategic vision of food producing sectors in light of international demands, post pandemic challenges, and the strengthening of guidelines for sustainable management of the production sector, with a focus on global food security, as well as company plans for the coming years. Confirmed participants include the CEOs of BRF, Lorival Luz, Seara Alimentos, José Campos, Aurora Alimentos, Neivor Canton, and SSA, José Garrote. The debate will be moderated by the president of ABPA, Ricardo Santin.

Other strategic and technical panels will also be part of the program of the largest event in the sector in the country. See more at www.siavs.com.br