A world reference in the export of animal protein, Brazil is advancing in the conquest of new international markets, but it also has great potential to improve commercial access to countries that are already consumers. The president of the Brazilian Association of Animal Protein (ABPA), Ricardo Santin, discussed how to gain these spaces, biosecurity and projections for national poultry farming, during the first block of the 23rd Brazil South Poultry Symposium (SBSA), on Tuesday (4).

Santin highlighted the challenging moment for world poultry farming with the intensification of avian influenza. "Brazil remains free of avian influenza, while all neighboring countries have. The biosecurity and work our veterinarians have done with businesses and the government has kept our herds away from this disease."

"We have to celebrate this, because it is a victory for Brazil not to have any cases of avian influenza. And if the disease arrives here, we are also already prepared to segregate and eradicate the outbreak," Santin said.

Faced with the turbulent global health scenario, the president of ABPA stressed that in the condition of being free of avian influenza, Brazil should take advantage of its status to implement new trade agreements. The country is the world's largest exporter of chicken meat and the second largest producer, with a 35% market share, and industry projections show that further progress is possible.

"It doesn't necessarily mean opening up new markets, but gaining more space. India, for example, imposes import duties of 100 percent on chicken products and 30 percent on whole chickens. These are difficult barriers and if an agreement were made to reduce these rates, it could give us more access to this market, even though it is already open," he said.

Figures on Brazilian poultry farming

Food consumption only increases and the world's expectations are focused on Brazil. According to data presented by Santin at the Brazil South Poultry Symposium, while countries such as Canada, the United States and Australia have projections to increase food production to meet global demand by 9% and 10%, in Brazil this rate rises to 41%.

Chicken meat and eggs also showed the largest increase in animal protein consumption in the world, from 2010 to 2022. Last year alone, Brazilian exports of the protein totaled 4.8 million tons, according to ABPA data, a record volume that exceeded by 4.6% the total exported in the twelve months of 2021. Top destinations include China, the United Arab Emirates, the Philippines, the European Union and South Korea.