Brazil exported 42,623 tonnes of pig meat in April and had revenues of $118.66 million, an increase of 19.66 per cent in volume and 19.74 per cent in value compared to the same month of 2013.
The average price in the period remained stable (0.07 per cent).
"The growth of exports in April was expected. Our expectation is that this will also occur in May and June as Russia, our main importer, enables several refrigerators which should increase our sales," said Francisco Turra, chief executive of the Association of Animal Protein (ABPA) .
Last week, Rabobank said the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhoea virus (PEDv) can reducepork production in the US in 2014 by up to seven per cent.
"The PEDv worries us, because we are on the eve of the World Cup, and we need to strengthen our health protection to prevent the disease from spreading to swine here, since more than 500,000 tourists are expected from outside," added Vice President of pigs ABPA, Rui Eduardo Vargas Saldanha.
It would be natural that with the reduction of production in the US, the average international pig price will rise in the coming months, which would positively affect the revenue of the sector.
For the year, Brazil exported 153,457 tonnes and earned $410 million, down 1.65 per cent in volume and 1.85 per cent in revenues compared to the same period last year.
Russia, Hong Kong and Angola are the main markets of Brazilian pork. Russia accounted for 30.63 per cent of the exports, followed by Hong Kong with 25.36 per cent and Angola, with 9.49 per cent.
Ukraine remains off the list of top destinations, and Chile has established itself as a destination for pork from Brazil.
In April, sales to Russia increased by 27.55 per cent in volume (13,056 t) and 51.27 per cent in value ($48.62 million), compared to April 2013.
From January to April, the increase in shipments to Russia was up 11.41 per cent (47,031 t) and 26.76 per cent in value ($160.97 million).
Exports to Hong Kong in April, grew 12.23 per cent in volume (10,811 t) and 7.46 per cent in revenue ($25.84 million), compared to April 2013.
Between January and April, there was also an increase in sales to Hong Kong: 9.33 per cent by volume (39.721t) and 6.16 per cent in value ($94.60 million), compared to the same period last year.
