A total of 13.72 million hogs and pigs were slaughtered in the third quarter of 2021, a record figure in the time series that started in 1997. Production increased by 7.8% against the same quarter in 2020 and by 4.5% against the second quarter in 2021.

In the third quarter of 2021, 6.94 million cattle head were slaughtered, 10.7% less than in the third quarter of 2020 and 2% less than in the second quarter of 2021. That was the lowest level for a third quarter since 2004.

In the third quarter of 2021, a total of 1.54 billion chickens were slaughtered, representing an increase of 1.2% against the third quarter of 2020 and of 0.7% against the second quarter of 2021. That was the best figure for a third quarter in the time series, started in 1997, and the best result for September.

Acquisition of raw milk in the third quarter of 2021 reached 6.19 billion liters, with a decrease of 4.9% in relation to the third quarter of 2020 and an increase of 6.1% against the immediately previous quarter.

In the third quarter of 2021, the output of hen eggs reached 1.0 billion dozens, with a drop of 1.8% in relation to the third quarter of 2020 and a rise of 1.5% against the immediately previous quarter. That was the second biggest output of this indicator in the time series, started in 1987.

Cattle slaughter reaches lowest level for Q3 since 2004

In the third quarter of 2021, a total of 6.94 million cattle head were slaughtered under some type of sanitary inspection, a drop of 10.7%% against the third quarter of 2020 and of 2% over the second quarter. That was the lowest result for a third quarter since 2004.  August was the month with the best performance (2.52 million head) and September was the one with the lowest activity (1.91 million head).

That result kept a trend to retention of heifers observed since the start of 2020: the total heifers slaughtered was 2.29 million. The volume of fresh beef exported was the highest for a quarter, taking into account the time series of the Secretariat of Foreign Trade (SECEX/ME), with records for the months of August and September, 181.6 thousand tonnes and 187.0 thousand tonnes, respectively.

The slaughter of 829.71 thousand cattle head less in the third quarter of 2021, in relation to the same period a year ago, was caused by decreases in 21 out of 27 Federation Units (FUs). Among those with a contribution above 1.0%, the most significant decreases took place in:  Mato Grosso (-279.94 thousand head), Mato Grosso do Sul (-218.62 thousand head), Rio Grande do Sul (-131.21 thousand head), Rondônia (-83.84 thousand head), Paraná (-78.61 thousand head), São Paulo (-49.01 thousand head) and Santa Catarina (-31.23 thousand head). In contrast, the biggest rises were in: Goiás (+38.15 thousand head), Tocantins (+37.15 thousand head) and Minas Gerais (+19.08 thousand head).

Among the FUs, Mato Grosso remained the leader in cattle slaughter, accounting for 16.4% of the national share, followed by São Paulo (10.9%) and Goiás (10.8%). Ranking in the second position in the third quarter of 2020, Mato Grosso fell to the fourth position, after the drop of 24.4% in the number of head slaughtered compared with the period of this survey.

Slaughter of hogs and pigs hits a record in the time series

In the third quarter of 2021, 13.72 million hogs and pigs were slaughtered, with an increase 7.8% against the same period in 2020 and of 4.5% against the second quarter of 2021.  The monthly index had its best results in the months of July, August and September, leading to a record in the slaughter of hogs and pigs in the time series started in 1997.   The quarterly figure of exports of fresh pork reported by Secex, which computed a monthly record of exports in September, contributed to the performance of the slaughter.

The slaughter of 988.18 thousand more cattle head in the third quarter of 2021, over the same period a year ago, was leveraged by the increase in 19 out of 25 FUs. Among the states with a share over 1.0%, increases occurred in: Rio Grande do Sul (+284.50 thousand head), Santa Catarina (+216.01 thousand head), Paraná (+195.99 thousand head), Minas Gerais (+167.42 thousand head), São Paulo (+59.98 thousand head), Mato Grosso do Sul (+44.56 thousand head) and Mato Grosso (+210 head). The major drop occurred in Goiás (-28.84 thousand head). In the ranking of FUs, Santa Catarina remained leading the slaughter of hogs and pigs, with 28.7% of the national share, followed by Paraná (20.3%) and Rio Grande do Sul (17.7%).

Slaughter of chickens hits record figure for a Q3

In the third quarter of 2021, 1.54 billion chickens were slaughtered, accounting for an increase of 1.2% against the same period in 2020 and of 0.7% in relation to the second quarter of 2021.  That was the best figure for a third quarter in the time series, started in 1997, and the best result for September. The performance of the exports of fresh chicken positively influenced the result, since they registered the best performance since the third quarter of 2018, when they hit the record in the exports, which remained until today. Even so, the local market was the one that mostly absorbed the growth in the output.

The slaughter of more 18.82 million chicken head in the third quarter of 2021, over the third quarter of 2020, was caused by the increase in the slaughter in 16 out of 25 FUs that participated in the survey. Among those with a contribution above 1.0%, there were increases in: Paraná (+17.91 million head), Goiás (+8.08 million head), Santa Catarina (+7.90 million head), Mato Grosso do Sul (+2.45 million head), Pernambuco (+1.18 million head), Bahia (+827.80 thousand head) and São Paulo (+749.89 thousand head). On the other hand, the most significant drops were in: Mato Grosso (-10.33 million head), Rio Grande do Sul (-10.11 million head) and Minas Gerais (-2.12 million head).

In the ranking of FUs, Paraná remained leading the slaughter of chicken in Brazil, with 33.7% of the national share, followed by Santa Catarina (13.8%) and Rio Grande do Sul (13.1%).

Milk acquisition drops 3.7% in annual comparison, though it rises in quarter

In the third quarter of 2021, the acquisition of raw milk by establishments under some kind of sanitary inspection (federal, state or municipal) was of 6.19 billion liters, representing a drop of 4.9% in comparison with the third quarter of 2020 and a rise of 6.1% against the immediately previous quarter. It should be highlighted that this sector has a cyclical behavior, in which third quarters usually show a recovery in relation to the previous quarter.

That result represented the smallest acquisition for a third quarter since 2016. August was the month with the biggest acquisition, with 2.08 billion liters, 5.2% below the same month last year, and July was the month with the lowest activity, with 2.04 billion liters, 5.0% less in the same comparison. The rise in the inputs, coupled with the difficulty to pass the costs on due to the weakened demand, affected the sector in the quarter. Furthermore, weather adversities jeopardized the supply of the product.

In comparison with the same quarter in 2020, the decrease of 322.43 million liters of milk obtained at national level resulted from decreases registered in 16 out of 26 FUs participating in the Quarterly Survey of Milk. At the FU level, the most significant drops occurred in Minas Gerais (-178.86 million liters), Paraná (-51.97 million liters), São Paulo (-48.10 million liters), Goiás (-34.39 million liters), and Rondônia (-21.47 million liters).

Minas Gerais still led the ranking of milk acquisition, with 23.4% of the national acquisition, followed by Rio Grande do Sul (15.1%) and Paraná (14.6%).

Acquisition of leather falls in both comparisons

In the third quarter of 2021, tanneries surveyed by the Quarterly Survey of Leather received 7.37 million leather pieces, with a drop of 10.4% in relation to that acquired in the third quarter of 2020 and of 2.2% against the second quarter of 2021.  This scenario was influenced by the reduction in cattle slaughter, especially in September, when 2.06 million rawhide pieces were acquired, 23.5% below the same month a year ago.

The comparison between the third quarters of 2020 and 2021 pointed out a negative change of 854.38 thousand pieces in the total acquired by the establishments, coming from the reduction in 11 out of 19 FUs that have tanning houses eligible by the universe of the survey. The most significant negative changes in FUs with more than 5.0% of share in the acquisition of leather occurred in Rondônia (-193.33 thousand pieces), Mato Grosso (-189.29 thousand pieces), Mato Grosso do Sul (-173.62 thousand pieces), Rio Grande do Sul (-168.28 thousand pieces), Paraná (-130.44 thousand pieces) and São Paulo (-31.49 thousand pieces). In contrast, Pará (+29.44 thousand pieces) increased the acquisition.

Mato Grosso remained leading the ranking of Federation Units that receive rawhide pieces to be processed, with 16.7% of the national share, followed by Mato Grosso do Sul (12.5%) and São Paulo (11.9%).

Production of hen eggs drops in the year, though it is the second highest for a third quarter

The production of hen eggs hit 1.0 billion dozens in the third quarter of 2021, with a drop of 1.8% against the third quarter of 2020 and a rise of 1.5% against the immediately previous quarter. That result represented the second biggest output both for a third quarter and for the time series of the survey, started in 1987. Like in 2020, August was the month with the highest output in 2021 with 337.05 million dozens, the fifth highest monthly production ever recorded, 1.3% lower than the production in the same month a year ago, a record in the time series. September was the period with the lowest output, with 329.63 million dozens, 2.3% below the same month in 2020.

At national level, the comparison between the third quarter and the same period of 2020 showed a difference of 18.0 million dozens of eggs. It was due to the drops in 16 out of 26 FUs with chicken farms included in the universe of the survey. In terms of quantity, the biggest reduction occurred in São Paulo (-12.99 million dozens), Minas Gerais (-5.66 million dozens), Goiás (-4.24 million dozens) and Espírito Santo (-3.53 million dozens). The most significant increases were reported in Ceará (+4.90 million dozens), Mato Grosso do Sul (+3.33 million dozens) and Bahia (+2.88 million dozens) – the three of them had already stood out with increases between the years of the previous publication, related to the second quarter.

Accounting for 28.2% of the national output in the third quarter of 2021, the state of São Paulo continued to be the biggest producer of eggs. Even with the drop of 4.4% between 2020 and 2021, it increased 4.2% if compared with the immediately previous quarter. It was followed by Paraná, responsible for 9.2% of the national production, Espírito Santo, with 8.7% and Minas Gerais, with 8.5%.