Quarterly Livestock Surveys
Slaughter of hogs and pigs reaches 14 million head in Q2, biggest result since 1997
September 06, 2022 09h00 AM | Last Updated: September 06, 2022 01h13 PM
In the second quarter of 2022, the slaughter of hogs and pigs reached 14.07 million head slaughtered, a record in the time series started in 1997. This figure represents an increase of 7.2% in relation to the same period in 2021 and of 3.0% in comparison with the first quarter this year. The data are from the Statistics of Livestock Production, released today (6) by the IBGE, which also unveils that cattle slaughter increased 3.5% in relation to the second quarter of 2021 and 5.7% in relation to the first quarter of 2022.
“Pork protein is a replacement for beef, whose consumption was reduced due to the price increase noticed since 2020.” explains Bernardo Viscardi, supervisor of livestock indicators.
According to Viscardi, foreign factors help to explain why nearly 81.3% of the output of hogs and pigs remained in the domestic market in the period under analysis. “In the last years, exports were rising, mainly due to China. After the control of the African swine fever and the replenishment of the Chinese herd, the exports significantly reduced. Other destinations increased their imports, though they could not offset the Chinese downturn,” stresses Viscardi.
In the second quarter, 7.38 million cattle head under some sort of sanitary inspection were slaughtered.
“After a downturn period, cattle slaughter rose for the second quarter in a row, especially that of females, which were being saved for reproductive activities since the end of 2019. The recent devaluation of calves seems to lead to a higher disposal of females. It is also important to consider that the meat of females, especially that of heifers, is being more demanded by the foreign market,” highlights the analyst.
The data show a huge increase in the share of the state of São Paulo in relation to the same period a year ago, with a rise of 163 thousand head. Viscardi explains one of the factors that contributed to this figure. “Apparently, part of the slaughter carried out in Mato Grosso and Goiás, which was embargoed by the Chinese market, was transfered to slaughterhouses in São Paulo.”
Still in the second quarter, 1.50 billion chicken head were slaughtered, accounting for a decrease of 1.4% against the same period in 2021 and of 2.7% in relation to the first quarter of 2022. In spite of the retraction, the month of May registered the best result in the entire time series started in 1997.
“The exports of chicken meat were a record in the quarter, influenced by the conflict in Ukraine, which is also an important supplier of this protein, as well as by the outbreak of avian influenza in producers of the northern hemisphere,” completes Viscardi.
Milk acquisition records worst result since 2016 whereas production of eggs is a historical record
Milk acquisition in the second quarter registered the worst result since 2016, with 5.40 billion liters of milk acquired, which represented a drop of 7.6% in relation to the same period of 2021.
“The dairy sector faced difficulties to pass the costs of the production chain on to final consumers. The price of milk significantly increased in the period but, even so, it could not offset the costs with the nutritional supplementation of herds and other expenditures like electricity and medicines,” assesses the analyst.
Viscardi also highlights the weight of climate factors to the results obtained. “It is also worth mentioning that the lack of rainfall in states of the center-south in the first quarter jeopardized the quality of the silage, used to complement the nutrition of animals during the typically dry period in the second quarter.”
The output of hen eggs reached 998.82 million dozens in the second quarter of 2022, the biggest production ever recorded for this period since the beginning of the time series. Holding 27.3% of the national production, the state of São Paulo remained as the biggest producer of eggs among the Federation Units, followed by Minas Gerais (9.2%) and Paraná (9.1%).
The Quarterly Survey of Leather unveiled that 7.49 million pieces were received by the tanning houses surveyed, which represents a drop of 0.9% over the second quarter of 2021 and a rise of 5.1% in relation to the first quarter of 2022.
More about the Quarterly Survey of Animal Slaughter
The survey investigates information on the number of slaughtered animals and the total weight of carcasses, by species of cattle (oxen, cows, steers and heifers), hogs and pigs, and chicken, having as collection units establishments that slaughter animals under federal, state or municipal sanitary inspection. The survey is released every quarter and data are presented every month for each quarter of the civil year.
As of the first quarter of 2018, in response to users’ needs for timely information on livestock, the IBGE started releasing "First Results" of the Quarterly Survey of Animal Slaughter for Brazil, as a provisional solution. These data are available nearly one month ahead the release of the "Complete Results”. The complete data can be accessed on Sidra.
