In the third quarter of 2023, cattle slaughter increased 12.2%, that of hogs and pigs, 0.5% and that of chicken, 3.2% over the same period in 2022. Compared with the second quarter of 2023, cattle slaughter increased 5.5%, that of hogs, 2.9% and that of chicken, 1.4%.

Slaughter of cattle and of hogs and pigs hit a new record in the time series, started in 1997. On the whole, 14.62 million head of hogs and pigs were slaughtered, as well as 8.93 million cattle head.

Acquisition of raw milk reached 6.23 billion liters, an increase of 1.3% over the third quarter of 2022 and of 8.6% against the immediately previous quarter.

Acquisition of rawhide by tanneries rose 9.2% against the third quarter of 2022 and increased 4.6% against the immediately previous quarter, adding up to 8.84 million rawhide pieces.

In the third quarter, the production of hen eggs hit 1.06 billion dozens, reaching a new record in the time series of the survey, started in 1987. The rise was of 2.3% in relation to that registered in the same period of 2022 and of 1.0% against the immediately previous quarter.

Cattle slaughter rises 12.2% in the year and 5.5% over the previous quarter

In the third quarter of 2023, 8.93 million cattle head under some sort of sanitary inspection were slaughtered.  This milestone represented a record, taking into account the entire time series of the survey, started in 1997. It rose 12.2% over the third quarter of 2022 and 5.5% in relation to the second quarter this year.

The production of 2.38 million tonnes of cattle carcasses in the third quarter of 2023 represented an increase of 10.0% in relation to the same quarter a year ago and of 8.3% in relation to the second quarter of 2023.

The slaughter of more 971.66 thousand cattle head in the third quarter of 2023, over the same period a year ago, was leveraged by the increase in 18 out of 27 Federation Units (FUs). Among those with a national share above 1.0%, the most significant increases occurred in: Mato Grosso (+306.89 thousand head), Rondônia (+220.11 thousand head), Pará (+169.30 thousand head), Goiás (+98.14 thousand head), Tocantins (+53.82 thousand head), Bahia (+52.88 thousand head), Minas Gerais (+38.73 thousand head) and Acre (+35.84 thousand head). On the other hand, the most significant negative changes occurred in Paraná (-19.17 thousand head), Mato Grosso do Sul (-18.63 thousand head), São Paulo (-15.45 thousand head) and Santa Catarina (-7.35 thousand head).

Among the FUs, Mato Grosso remained the leader in cattle slaughter, accounting for 17.8% of the national share, followed by Goiás (10.7%) and São Paulo (10.2%).

Slaughter of hogs and pigs grows 0.5% in the annual comparison and 2.9% in the quarter

Slaughter of hogs and pigs added up to 14.62 million head in the third quarter of 2023. In this period, the survey registered the best results for slaughtering for the months of July and August, leading to the highest quarterly level in the time series since it began in 1997. This result represented an increase of 0.5% compared with the same quarter in the previous year and of 2.9% in relation to the second quarter of 2023.

The cumulative weight of the carcasses was 1.37 million tonnes in the third quarter of 2023, consisting of increases of 2.5% compared with the third quarter of 2022 and of 3.2% in relation to the immediately previous quarter.

The slaughter of more 79.77 thousand head of hogs and pigs in the third quarter of 2023, in relation to the same period a year ago, was leveraged by rises in 11 out of 24 Federation Units under the scope of the survey. Among the states with a share over 1.0%, increases occurred in: Santa Catarina (+147.36 thousand head), Paraná (+135.99 thousand head), Mato Grosso do Sul (+7.22 thousand head) and Goiás (+1.68 thousand head). On the other hand, the most significant drops were in: Minas Gerais (-89.99 thousand head), Mato Grosso (-57.26 thousand head), Rio Grande do Sul (-40.93 thousand head) and São Paulo (-37.95 thousand head).

In the ranking of FUs, Santa Catarina remained leading the slaughter of hogs and pigs, with 29.9% of the national participation, followed by Paraná (21.4%) and Rio Grande do Sul (16.7%).

Chicken slaughter rises 3.2% in the annual comparison and 1.4% in the quarter

In the third quarter of 2023, 1.58 billion chicken head were slaughtered. A record for a third quarter, this result meant an increase of 3.2% in relation to the same quarter in the previous year and of 1.4% in the comparison with the second quarter of 2023.

The cumulative weight of carcasses was 3.32 million tonnes in the third quarter of 2023. That represented an increase of 3.6% in relation to the third quarter of 2022 and a drop of 1.4% against the immediately previous quarter.

The slaughter of more 49.31 million chicken head in the third quarter of 2023, in relation to the same period in the previous year, was determined by increases in the slaughter in 11 out of 25 Federation Units analyzed in the survey. Among those with a contribution above 1.0%, there were increases in: Paraná (+30.36 million head), Santa Catarina (+22.96 million head), Minas Gerais (+14.63 million head), São Paulo (+7.91 million head) and Goiás (+5.31 million head). Conversely, there were drops in: Rio Grande do Sul (-16.26 million head), Mato Grosso (-4.28 million head), Mato Grosso do Sul (-4.25 million head) and Bahia (-1.97 million head).

Paraná remained leading the slaughter of chicken in Brazil, with 34.7% of the national participation, followed by Santa Catarina (14.0%) and Rio Grande do Sul (12.2%).

Acquisition of milk rises 1.3% in the year and 8.6% in the quarter

In the third quarter of 2023, the acquisition of raw milk by establishments under some kind of sanitary inspection was of 6.23 billion liters. The value corresponded to an increase of 1.3% in comparison with the volume recorded in the third quarter of 2022 and of 8.6% in relation to that obtained in the immediately previous quarter.

The average price paid to producers fell 24.7% in the year and 14.4% in the quarter. In addition, a downward trend was registered along the quarter, with average values of R$2.45 in July and R$2.19 in September.  The information is from  Experimental Statistics of Price of raw milk paid to producers.

Comparing the third quarter of 2023 with the same period in 2022, the increase of 82.97 million liters of milk acquired at national level was due to the rises reported in 18 out of 26 FUs participating in the Quarterly Survey of Milk. At the Federation Unit level, the most significant positive changes occurred in: Santa Catarina (+48.69 million liters), Minas Gerais (+27.13 million liters), Rondônia (+20.03 million liters), Paraná (+13.44 million liters), Ceará (+12.44 million liters) and Sergipe (+12.01 million liters). On the other hand, the most relevant decreases occurred in São Paulo (-48.14 million liters), Rio Grande do Sul (-38.64 million liters) and Goiás (-11.47 million liters).

Minas Gerais still led the ranking of milk acquisition, with 23.5% of the national acquisition, followed by Paraná (14.7%), Santa Catarina (14.4%) and Rio Grande do Sul (13.7%).

Acquisition of rawhide increases 9.2% in the year and 4.6% in the quarter

The tanneries investigated in the Quarterly Survey of Leather – those responsible for at least 5,000 whole pieces of cattle rawhide per year – reported to have received 8.84 million whole cattle rawhide pieces in the third quarter of 2023. This amount represented an increase of 9.2% against the third quarter of 2022 and of 4.6% in relation to the immediately previous quarter.

The comparison between the third quarters of 2022 and 2023 pointed out a positive change of 742.22 thousand pieces in the total purchased by the establishments. Twelve out of 17 Federation Units with tanning houses selected by the survey increased. The most significant positive changes, in states with more than 5.0% of share in the national acquisition, occurred in Mato Grosso (+200.70 thousand pieces), Goiás (+195.16 thousand pieces), Rondônia (+153.21 thousand pieces), Pará (+116.52 thousand pieces), São Paulo (+57.39 thousand pieces), Mato Grosso do Sul (+15.80 thousand pieces) and Paraná (+12.00 thousand pieces). In contrast, the most significant negative change occurred in Rio Grande do Sul (-14.06 thousand pieces).

Mato Grosso remained leading the ranking of Federation Units that receive rawhide pieces to be processed, with 18.0% of the national share, followed by Mato Grosso do Sul (12.6%) and São Paulo (11.2%).

Production of hen eggs hits record, rises 2.3% in the year and 1.0% in the quarter

The production of hen eggs hit a new record in the third quarter of 2023, reaching 1.06 billion dozens.  The volume was 2.3% higher than the production in the same quarter of 2022 and 1.0% higher than the immediately previous quarter.

The production of more 24.27 million dozen eggs at the national level, if comparing the third quarters of 2023 and 2022, was a consequence of the increase in the production of 18 out of 26 FUs with eligible chicken farms. The most significant increases occurred in Paraná (+5.48 million dozens), Minas Gerais (+3.86 million dozens), São Paulo (+2.82 million dozens), Santa Catarina (+2.55 million dozens), Ceará (+2.45 million dozens) and Goiás (+2.01 million dozens). Concerning the decreases in eight state productions, no case hit one million dozens.

Holding 26.6% of the national production in the third quarter of 2023, the state of São Paulo remained as the biggest producer of eggs among the Federation Units, followed by Paraná (10.2%), Minas Gerais (9.2%) and Espírito Santo (7.9%).