Brazil pork market: production growth slows but export boom continues

Brazil is the world’s fourth largest pork producer standing behind China, the European Union and the United States. Pork production in Brazil has seen strong grown in recent years following significant industry investment in response to increasing demand on the domestic and global markets. The USDA has revised down its 2024 forecast to year-on-year growth of 1%, down from 3% earlier this year. A further increase of 1% is forecast for 2025 to 4.55m tonnes (CWE). Lower feed costs were said to be incentivising production gains earlier this year, however in recent months this has been limited due to unfavourable weather in spring. Rabobank report that heavy rains in April and May reduced the supply of piglets. Pork is the third preferred protein in Brazil after chicken and beef. USDA forecast domestic consumption to decline by 1% in 2024 due to firm pricing, although there is an expectation of demand picking up towards the end of the year for seasonal activities such as BBQ season, ...