Pork gains ground in Brazil and abroad
September 14, 2017 09h00 AM | Last Updated: September 22, 2017 01h31 PM
Because of the change in household consumption patterns and the growth in exports, the slaughter of hogs and pigs had its best 2nd quarter since the beginning of the time series. Between April and June 2017, there were 10.62 million head of hogs and pigs, whereas cattle slaughter decreased 3.7% in relation to the same period of 2016 and chicken slaughter, 4.5% in the same comparison. The data are in the Quarterly Survey of Agriculture, released this Thursday by the IBGE.
The growth in the production of pigs and hogs is associated to the significant rise in the exports and to a change in the Brazilians’ taste, now consuming more pork. The change can also be explained by the lowest price of the product in relation to beef – usually the favorite one among families.
"The per capita consumption of beef has fallen in Brazil. As beef is a little more expensive, it ends up losing market share, mostly because of its price at this time of budget restrictions. Chicken is usually the other option in such occasions, for being considered the healthiest alternative", says Angela Lordão, supervisor of IBGE Livestock Activity.
The researcher adds that the change has come after producers carried out market research to analyze the consumption bottlenecks and to get to overcome the prejudice against the product, considered less healthy than beef and chicken. "Nowadays, this view on pork has been changing, with the new pork cuts being implemented by the industry", says Angela.
The result of the 2nd quarter this year was influenced by the "Carne Fraca"(Weak Flesh) Operation, of the Federal Police, in the end of March, investigating some of the main meat producers in the country. The ongoing police action is one of the factors that led to a severe production drop in April.
"Some establishments stopped their activities in April; indeed, some even had collective vacations. We had decrease in the production of all kinds of meat. In May, there was a recovery, when the paralyzed refrigerators went back to their normal activity", Angela explained.
Text: Rodrigo Paradella
Image: Pixabay
Graph: J.C. Rodrigues
