Pigs

Apart from affecting Brazilian trade in hog and pork, a truck drivers’ strike has also limited Brazilian pig meat exports.

Because of the difficulty in transporting shipments to the ports, exports dropped in February.

Just 22,000 tonnes of fresh pork were exported, the smallest amount for the month since 2001, when 11.740 tonnes were shipped.

Compared to January there was a fall of 7.6 per cent.

In February, fresh pork fell in value by 3.9 per cent in São Paulo State (the biggest domestic market), closing at 3.47 BRL per kilo.

In Santa Catarina State, an important export state, the price fell by 9.5 per cent, to 3.26 BRL per kilo on 27 February.

In the wholesale market of the Greater São Paulo, the common hog carcase price dropped 3.9 per cent, closing the month at 5.37 BRL per kilo.

Poultry

Broiler quotes have been moving up since early February, especially for the chilled meat.

Having fallen significantly in January, broiler meat has become more competitive than other meats on the Brazilian market, and this has reinforced the demand.

However, the usual decrease of broiler production in February resulted in higher prices for chicken.

However, at the end of the month, poultry accounted strong losses because of the truck drivers’ strike, which started in the middle of February.

It has hit both chicken and broiler’s production and sales.

In this uncertainty, wholesale quotes showed an uneveness in the regions.

For frozen poultry, there was an increase of 7.8 per cent in Pará de Minas (Minas Gerais state) between 30 January and 27 February, reaching to 3.89 BRL per kilo.

In Chapecó (Santa Catarina), frozen broiler prices dropped 1.7 per cent in the same period, going to 3.46 BRL per kilo.

For chilled chicken, prices soared 2.8 per cent in Pará de Minas, to an average of 3.87 BRL per kilo on 27 February, while in Toledo (Parana state) prices rose by 9.5 per cent to 3.69 BRL per kilo.

Cattle

The truck drivers’ strike in several Brazilian regions also had a negative impact on the liquidity of the cattle market, but has had practically no affect on quotes.

According Cepea, the strike hit teh transport and trade of animals and meat in the South and in the Central-Western regions.

However, in the main regions, there was no great damage.

The ESALQ/BM&FBovespa Index for fed cattle increased 0.66 per cent in February, closing the month at 144.38 BRL.

In spite of the significant increase of fed cattle prices compared to 2014, the current scenario for futures prices indicates that cattle quotes on the spot Brazilian market might continue to be stable during the year or show only slight rises.