Pork exports advance 37% in the first half pulled by China

Brazil's pork exports advanced 37% in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period a year earlier, reaching 479,400 tons, amid firm Asian demand, said the Brazilian Association of Animal Protein (ABPA) on Tuesday (7).
Shipments, considering fresh and processed products, generated revenue of US$ 1.08 billion dollars in the period, up 52.5% compared to 2019, ABPA added.
According to the entity's statement, sales to Asia grew by 83.1% in the first six months of the year to 374,500 tons – or about 78% of the total shipped.
China imported 230,700 tons of the product in the first half, an increase of 150.2% year-on-year.
The move is similar to that seen in brazilian beef purchases by the Asian country, which jumped 148% in the period, according to data from Abrafrigo.
ABPA's figures on China do not include exports to Hong Kong, which in the first half imported 92,900 tons of pork, up 18.6% year-on-year, making the territory the second largest customer in Brazil.
"The impacts generated in Asia by African swine fever since 2018 continue to dictate the pace of imports from the region," ABPA President Francisco Turra said in a statement, citing the disease that has decimated half of China's largest pig farm in the world, boosting the country's protein acquisitions in the foreign market.
Considering June alone, 96,100 tons of pork were exported, up 50.4% year-on-year, with revenues of US$ 198 million, 43.4% higher than in June 2019.
Over the weekend, China suspended imports of two pork processing units from Brazil, according to the Chinese customs authority, restricting shipments amid concerns about the new coronavirus.
Now, 6 Brazilian refrigeration units have so far been barred from exporting to China amid growing concerns about the thousands of Covid-19 cases. Of this total, 5 were embargoed by the Chinese and 1 by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture.
China is the largest buyer of pork, beef and chicken in Brazil. The Asian country has asked meat exporters to globally certify that their products are free of coronavirus, which BRF, JBS and other food processors in Brazil have already done.
Last week, the president of ABPA said there was no technical reason for the suspensions.
"There is no technical basis in this suspension. The product (meat) is getting there (in China) and being analyzed without problem of any nature... without Covid-19. But it's a way to give satisfaction to the Chinese consumer," Francisco Turra said on June 30.