In Q2 2019, the main livestock activities increased against the same period in 2018: the slaughter of cattle, hogs and pigs and chicken increased by 3.5%, 5.2% and 3.4%, respectively, as well as the acquisition of milk (6.9%) and leather (1%). The production of hen eggs increased by 7.2%, a record in the time series initiated in 1987. Foreign demand, influenced by China, mainly, was beneficial to the meat market. In addition to that, the basis for comparison between the second wuarters in 2018 and 2019 was affected by the truck drivers' strike that took place last year, thus leading to the roccurrence of positive changes.

Cattle slaughter increased 3.5% in relation to Q2 2018

In Q2 2019, 8.04 million cattle head under some sort of sanitary inspection were slaughtered.  That amount surpassed by 3.5% the total obtained in Q2 2018, a period marked by the truck drivers' strike, and by 1.4% the total registered in the previous quarter.

The slaughter of 268.55 thousand cattle head more than in Q2 2018 was leveraged by the increase in 17 of the 27 Federation Units (FUs). The positive changes among Federation Units with a participation above 1.0% were: Mato Grosso (+257.03 thousand head), Mato Grosso do Sul (+99.22 thousand head), São Paulo (+45.03 thousand head), Rondônia (+28.18 thousand head), Santa Catarina (+12.63 thousand head) and Bahia (+6.43 thousand head). The most significant decreases were recorded by Goiás (-73.78 thousand head), Rio Grande do Sul (-64.30 thousand head), Pará (-63.68 thousand head) and Maranhão (-13.97 thousand head).

In the ranking of Federation Units, Mato Grosso remains as the leader of cattle slaughter, accounting for 17.8% of the national overall, followed by Mato Grosso do Sul (11.4%) and São Paulo (10.1%).

Slaughter of hogs and pigs grows 5.2% against the same period in 2018

In Q2 2019, a total 11.39 million head of hogs and pigs were slaughtered. That means an increase of 5.2% against the same period in 2018 and of 09% versus Q1 2019. That was the best result for a sencond quarter in the time series that started in 1997, mainy due to the record figures in the months of April and May.  The decrease of 12.1% recorded in June 2019 against 2018 was due to the effcts of the truck drivers' strike that started in May 2018, which postponed until the following month part of the undelivered production. 

The slaughter of 560.38 thousand head of hogs and pigs in Q2 2019, in relation to the same period in the previous year, was leveraged by rises in 20 out of the 25 Federation Units under the scope of the survey. Among the states with a participation above 1%, there were increases in: Santa Catarina (+199.00 thousand head), Rio Grande do Sul (+118.62 thousand head),  São Paulo (+79.90 thousand head), Mato Grosso (+61,92 thousand head), Minas Gerais (+48.04 thousand head), Paraná (+37.39 thousand head) and Goiás (+17.28 thousand head). Mato Grosso recorded a decrease (-9.29 thousand head).

In the ranking of Federation Units, Santa Catarina remains leading the slaughter of hogs and pigs, with 26.8% of the national participation, followed by Paraná (20.0%) and Rio Grande do Sul (18.5%).

Chickens slaughter grows 3.4% over the equivalent quarter in 2018

In Q2 2019, 1.42 billion chickens were slaughtered. That figure represented an increase of 3.4% in comparison with the same quarter in 2018 and a decrease of 0.9% against the previous quarter. The increase in the annual comparison was also due to a low basis for comparison, due to the truck drivers' strike that took place in 2018.

The slaughter of 47.30 million chickens more in the Q2 2019, in relation to the same period in the previous year, was determined by increases in slaughter in 15 out of the 24 Federation Units participating in the survey. Among those with a participation above 1.0%, increases were registered by: Paraná (+31.71 million head), Santa Catarina (+17.57 million head), Goiás (+11.40 million head), Minas Gerais (+3.93 million head), Mato Grosso (+1.02 million head) and Pará (+940.18 thousand head). On the other hand, decreases were recorded by: São Paulo (-9.86 million head), Rio Grande do Sul (-8.94 million head), Bahia (-1.56 milllion head) and Mato Grosso do Sul (-374.58 thousand head).

In the ranking of Federation Units, Paraná remains leading the slaughter of chickens, with 32.0% of the national output, followed by Santa Catarina (14.2%) and Rio Grande do Sul (14.2%).

Purchase of milk grows 6.9% against the same period in 2018

In Q2 2019, the acquisition of raw milk by establishments under some kind of sanitary inspection (federal, state or municipal) was of 5.85 billion liters, representing an increase of 6.9% over the amount produced in the 2018 and a decrease of 5.8% against the preceding quarter. The time series which started in 1997 shows the seasonal aspect of the milk sector: the lowest annual indexes take place in second quarters due to the off-season period in the main dairy regions.    

Na comparação com o mesmo período em 2018, o acréscimo de 375,69 milhões de litros de leite captados em nível nacional é proveniente do aumento registrado em 22 das 26 UFs participantes da Pesquisa Trimestral do Leite. Em nível de Unidades da Federação, os aumentos mais relevantes, em valores absolutos, ocorreram em Paraná (+79,78 milhões de litros), Santa Catarina (+65,67 milhões de litros), Goiás (+64,71 milhões de litros), Minas Gerais (+53,71 milhões de litros), São Paulo (40,38 milhões de litros) e Ceará (19,14 milhões de litros). As reduções mais significativas ocorreram Rondônia (-16,26 milhões de litros) e Espírito Santo (-6,53 milhões de litros).

In comparison with the same period in 2018, the increase of 375.69 million liters of milk obtained at national level comes from the increase recorded in 22 of the 26 federation Units participating in the Quarterly Survey of Milk.  In terms of Federation Units, the most relevant increases, in absolute figures, occurred in Paraná (+79.78 million liters), Santa Catarina (+65,67 million liters), Goiás (+64.71 million liters), Minas Gerais (+53.71 million liters), São Paulo (40.38 million liters) and Ceará (19.14 million liters). The most significant decreases took place in Rondônia (-16.26 million liters) and Espírito Santo (-6.53 million liters).

Minas Gerais continuou liderando o ranking nacional de aquisição de leite, com 24,8% da aquisição nacional, seguida por Paraná (13,0%) e Rio Grande do Sul (12,9%).

Rawhide acquisition grows 1% over 2018

In Q2 2019, the surveyed tanning houses in the Quarterly Survey Rawhide - those that carry ouyt the tanning of at least 5,000 whole pieces of rawhide per year - delared to have received 8.39 million of whole cattle raw hide. That amount means an increase of 1.0% in comparison with Q2 2018 and a decrease of 0.9% against Q1 2019.

The comparison between the second quarters of 2018 points to an increase o 81.77 thousand pieces acquired by establishments.  The positive highlights in absolute numbers came from Mato Grosso do Sul (+132.44 thousand pieces), Rondônia (+119.54 thousand pieces and Mato Grosso (+77.91 thousand pieces).  The biggest absolute decreases took place in Rio Grande do Sul (-94.80 thousand pieces and Pará (-91.75 thousand pieces).

Mato Grosso keeps leading the ranking of Federation Units that receive rawhide pieces for processing, with 16.5% of the national contribution, followed by Mato Grosso do Sul (14.5%) and São Paulo (12.0%).

Hen eggs production hits record figure in the series

A total 942.45 million dozen of hen eggs were produced in the Q2 2019: 7.2% more than in Q2 2018 and 1.9% more than in in the preceding quarter.  Considering the survey time series, which started in 1987, that was a record output, and surpassed the previous hike of Q4 2018, when 91.42 million dozen had been produced.

The production of 62.91 million more dozen eggs more, against the same quarter in 2018, resulted also from the increases in 22 of the 26 Federation Units with eligible chicken farms. The biggest quantitative increases occurred in São Paulo (+18.05 million dozen), Ceará (+9.12 million dozens), Minas Gerais (+7.70 million dozens), Paraná (+7.59 million dozens) and Espírito Santo (+7.35 million dozens).

The state of São Paulo is still the biggest egg producer, with 28.9% of the national production, followed by Espírito Santo (9.6%), Minas Gerais (9.4%) and Paraná (9.1%).

More than half of the chicken farms in the country (56.9% or 1 071) produced eggs for consumption, accounting for 82.0% of the overall output, whereas 812 chicken farms (43.1%) produced eggs for incubation and accounted for 18.0% of the total.