Brazil’s September Chicken Exports Rise 3.7% as Pork Shipments Fall 11%

Chicken shipments exceed 500,000 tonnes

Brazil’s chicken meat exports increased in September 2026, while pork shipments declined against a strong comparison period, according to data from the Brazilian Animal Protein Association, known as ABPA. The contrasting results point to different demand and pricing conditions across two of the country’s principal animal-protein export sectors.

Brazil shipped more than 500,000 tonnes of chicken meat during September, an increase of 3.7% from the same month a year earlier, R7 reported, citing ABPA. Export revenue reached $984 million, approximately R$4.9 billion, representing year-on-year growth of 14.7%.

The substantially faster increase in revenue than in volume indicates that the value generated per tonne was higher than a year earlier, although ABPA did not provide an average export price in the source material. The September performance also extended growth across the year: Brazilian chicken export volume increased 14% during the first nine months of 2026.

United Arab Emirates leads poultry destinations

The United Arab Emirates was the leading destination for Brazilian poultry meat in September, according to R7’s account of the ABPA data. The result underscores the continuing importance of Middle Eastern demand to Brazil’s chicken industry and its export-oriented processing base.

Shipments to the European Union rose by more than 1,000% compared with September 2025, while exports to China increased by almost 80,000%. Those exceptional percentage gains came from a severely depressed comparison base rather than normal market expansion. R7 said September 2025 had been affected by temporary import suspensions introduced after Brazil recorded its only case of avian influenza.

The return of trade with markets affected by those restrictions therefore had an outsized impact on the annual comparisons. For producers, processors and buyers, the more relevant test will be whether volumes to the European Union and China remain firm once the statistical effect of the low base fades.

Pork volume drops to 135,000 tonnes

Brazilian pork exports moved in the opposite direction. Shipments covering all pork products, including fresh and processed meat, totaled 135,000 tonnes in September, down 11% from the corresponding month a year earlier, UOL reported, citing ABPA.

ABPA attributed the monthly decline to a high year-earlier comparison and pressure on average international prices. Unlike the chicken segment, where revenue growth exceeded the increase in physical shipments, the pork figures indicate a market facing simultaneous constraints from weaker monthly volume and pricing conditions.

The September contraction did not erase the pork sector’s gains for the year. From January through September 2026, exported volume increased 6.2%, while revenue rose 1.3%, according to R7. The gap between those rates is consistent with ABPA’s assessment that average international prices were under pressure.

Philippines remains central to pork trade

The Philippines was the main destination for Brazilian pork during the period covered by the report. Its position gives demand from the Southeast Asian market particular importance for Brazilian slaughterhouses and exporters as they manage the effects of softer international prices.

September’s data leave the two protein sectors on different short-term paths. Chicken exporters benefited from higher shipment volume, stronger revenue and the reopening effect in previously disrupted destinations. Pork exporters retained positive year-to-date growth but faced a monthly decline and weaker value performance. Future results will depend on whether restored poultry trade settles at sustainable levels and whether pork demand can absorb Brazilian supply without further pressure on prices.