BRF highlights the strength of the domestic market

In the wake of the advancement of the per capita consumption of chicken meat in Brazil, the BRF estimates that the domestic market will be the largest vector of growth of the volume to be sold by the company in 2015, despite the prospect of stagnation of the economy of the country.
"Domestically, there is an expectation of increased volume growth," said on Friday the Vice President for finance and investor relations of the BRF, Augusto Ribeiro Júnior, in an interview with journalists. Despite the call, the Executive avoided detailing what is the expected growth for the next year.
Already in the external market, the expectation of Ribeiro Júnior is that sales of BRF follow a more "selective", in line with the strategy launched by the company at the end of 2012 to reduce the volume destined for exports with the aim of increasing the profitability of operations.
"Volume growth in the international market will happen in the Middle East, where we have a plant, and also in the Asian market," he said, citing the processed food factory that BRF inaugurated last month in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
In spite of the growth projection "selective" sales on foreign markets, the Director of "global desk" of the BRF, José Humberto Junior Silver, acknowledged that the dollar prices of exports of chicken meat in natura are falling, pressured by growing global supply of this protein and the fall of the quotations of the grains that make up the animal feed, especially corn and soybean meal. According to Junior, Silver prices should continue on downward trajectory until the middle of first quarter of 2015.
"I feel the price falling. Will continue receding a bit more in the first quarter, and then stabilizes, "he said. Nevertheless, the Executive emphasized that the profitability of exports remained "good", favoured by the beneficial effect of the devaluation of the real against the dollar and the retraction of the quotations of the grain.
Currently, the BRF leads Brazilian exports of chicken meat. Of the total exported by the company, 85 percent is chicken meat in natura. Therefore, falling prices directly affects the company. On the other hand, downplayed the impact of the Executive falling prices of fresh chicken meat in the domestic market is less representative for the BRF, since about 90% of the products sold by the company in Brazil are the processed foods. And, even if it is the leader in the chicken slaughter in Brazil, the BRF has only 7% of the market for fresh chicken, said.