Move over, world – Brazil is absolutely sizzling as a pork powerhouse, producing a record-breaking 4.9 million tons in 2023 to feed both its thriving domestic market and dozens of hungry nations across the globe.
Key Takeaways
- In 2023, Brazil's pork production reached 4,927 thousand tons, marking a 5.2% increase from 2022
- Brazil slaughtered 47.2 million heads of pigs in 2023, up 4.8% year-over-year
- The state of Paraná accounted for 28.5% of Brazil's total pork production in 2023 with 1,404 thousand tons
- Brazil exported 1,342 thousand tons of pork in 2023, a 12.4% increase from 2022
- China imported 842 thousand tons of Brazilian pork in 2023, representing 62.8% of total exports
- Pork exports to the Philippines reached 156 thousand tons from Brazil in 2023
- Brazil's per capita pork consumption was 16.2 kg in 2023
- Total domestic pork consumption in Brazil: 3,612 thousand tons in 2023
- Pork's share in Brazilian meat consumption: 12.4% in 2023
- Brazil pork industry generated R$45.2 billion in revenue in 2023
- Pork sector contributed 1.2% to Brazil's agribusiness GDP in 2023
- Total employment in Brazilian pork chain: 1.2 million jobs in 2023
- Brazil's pork industry GHG emissions: 4.2 million tons CO2eq in 2023
- Antibiotic use in Brazilian pork production: reduced 18% to 145 mg/kg in 2023
- Pork farms with environmental certification: 56% in 2023
Brazil's pork industry set new production and export records in 2023.
Domestic Consumption
- Brazil's per capita pork consumption was 16.2 kg in 2023
- Total domestic pork consumption in Brazil: 3,612 thousand tons in 2023
- Pork's share in Brazilian meat consumption: 12.4% in 2023
- Urban per capita pork intake: 17.8 kg/year in Brazil 2023
- Rural per capita pork consumption: 14.3 kg/year in 2023
- Fresh pork consumption: 2,145 thousand tons in Brazil 2023
- Processed pork products consumed: 1,467 thousand tons in 2023
- Pork sausage consumption: 456 thousand tons in Brazil 2023
- Ham and bacon domestic sales: 234 thousand tons in 2023
- Pork ribs consumption growth: 8.2% in 2023
- Southeast Brazil pork consumption: 1,456 thousand tons in 2023
- Per capita consumption in Paraná: 25.6 kg in 2023
- National pork consumption growth: 3.9% from 2022 in 2023
- Pork in food service sector: 23% of total meat use in 2023
- Retail pork sales volume: 2,890 thousand tons in 2023
- Pork loin domestic demand: 345 thousand tons in 2023
- Pork tenderloin consumption: 89 thousand tons in Brazil 2023
- Holiday pork consumption spike: 15% in December 2023
- Pork in Brazilian diets: 18% protein source in 2023 surveys
- Youth consumption (18-34): 19.2 kg/capita pork in 2023
- Elderly (65+) pork intake: 12.8 kg/capita in 2023
- Vegan/vegetarian impact reduced pork share by 2.1% in 2023
- Pork consumption in Northeast: 8.9 kg/capita in 2023
- South region per capita: 28.4 kg pork in 2023
Domestic Consumption Interpretation
Brazil is clearly a nation where pork reigns supreme—not just on the holiday plate with a 15% December spike, but from the sausage-loved south at 28.4 kg per person to the loin-loving youth, proving that when it comes to meat, this is a country firmly in the hog's embrace.
Exports and Trade
- Brazil exported 1,342 thousand tons of pork in 2023, a 12.4% increase from 2022
- China imported 842 thousand tons of Brazilian pork in 2023, representing 62.8% of total exports
- Pork exports to the Philippines reached 156 thousand tons from Brazil in 2023
- Brazil's pork export value was US$3.45 billion in 2023
- Exports to Hong Kong: 98 thousand tons of Brazilian pork in 2023
- Number of Brazilian pork-exporting countries: 78 in 2023
- Pork export volume to Russia: 45 thousand tons in 2023
- Average export price of Brazilian pork: US$2.57/kg in 2023
- Fresh/chilled pork exports: 456 thousand tons from Brazil in 2023
- Frozen pork exports: 886 thousand tons in 2023
- Pork exports to Vietnam: 112 thousand tons in 2023
- Brazil's share of global pork exports: 22.5% in 2023
- Pork belly exports from Brazil: 234 thousand tons in 2023
- Export growth to Mexico: 28% for Brazilian pork in 2023
- Pork exports to the EU: 12 thousand tons in 2023
- Singapore imported 34 thousand tons of Brazilian pork in 2023
- Brazil's pork export destinations in Asia: 92% of total in 2023
- Pork export revenue per ton: US$2,572 in 2023
- Exports to Chile: 67 thousand tons of pork from Brazil in 2023
- Pork imports into Brazil: only 23 thousand tons in 2023
- Main pork import sources: Argentina (45%) and USA (32%) in 2023
- Pork imports value: US$67 million in 2023
- Brazilian pork exporters number: 156 companies in 2023
- Pork trade balance surplus: US$3.38 billion in 2023
- Exports to South Korea: 56 thousand tons in 2023
- Cumulative pork exports Jan-Nov 2023: 1,289 thousand tons
- Pork export share to China peaked at 65% in Q4 2023
Exports and Trade Interpretation
With a nearly $3.4 billion trade surplus built on 62.8% dependency on a single, voracious customer in China, Brazil's pork industry is living a high-wire act of glorious, bacon-scented prosperity, precariously balanced over a pit of geopolitical whim.
Industry Economics
- Brazil pork industry generated R$45.2 billion in revenue in 2023
- Pork sector contributed 1.2% to Brazil's agribusiness GDP in 2023
- Total employment in Brazilian pork chain: 1.2 million jobs in 2023
- Direct jobs in pork production: 245,000 in 2023
- Average salary in pork slaughterhouses: R$2,890/month in 2023
- Investment in pork sector: R$4.1 billion in 2023
- Pork export revenue share of agribusiness: 4.8% in 2023
- Farmgate pork value: R$18.7 billion in 2023
- Processing industry revenue: R$26.5 billion from pork in 2023
- Pork taxes paid to government: R$5.6 billion in 2023
- ROI for pork producers: 14.2% average in 2023
- Cost of production per kg live weight: R$7.23 in 2023
- Profit margin for processors: 8.7% in 2023
- Number of pork farms: 78,000 in Brazil 2023
- Large-scale farms (>1,000 heads): 2,450 in 2023
- Feed costs represent 72% of total pork production costs in 2023
- Labor costs in pork industry: 12% of total expenses in 2023
- Energy costs for slaughterhouses: R$1.2 billion in 2023
- Pork sector R&D investment: R$450 million in 2023
- Insurance coverage for pork farms: 65% penetration in 2023
- Bank financing for pork: R$12.3 billion disbursed in 2023
- Pork industry multiplier effect on economy: 2.8x GDP contribution in 2023
Industry Economics Interpretation
While it may not be glamorous, Brazil’s pork industry in 2023 proved it's no piggy bank, generating R$45.2 billion in revenue, providing 1.2 million jobs, and cleverly using an army of 78,000 farms to make an economic multiplier of 2.8x look surprisingly easy.
Production and Output
- In 2023, Brazil's pork production reached 4,927 thousand tons, marking a 5.2% increase from 2022
- Brazil slaughtered 47.2 million heads of pigs in 2023, up 4.8% year-over-year
- The state of Paraná accounted for 28.5% of Brazil's total pork production in 2023 with 1,404 thousand tons
- Santa Catarina produced 1,123 thousand tons of pork in 2023, representing 22.8% of national output
- Rio Grande do Sul contributed 912 thousand tons to pork production in 2023, or 18.5% of the total
- Brazil's pig herd totaled 42.3 million heads at the end of 2023, a 3.1% growth
- Average live weight of pigs at slaughter in Brazil was 115.2 kg in 2023
- Pork carcass yield in Brazil averaged 84.3% in 2023 across major slaughterhouses
- Brazil produced 1,248 thousand tons of fresh pork in 2023
- Processed pork output reached 856 thousand tons in Brazil during 2023
- Female pig breeding stock in Brazil numbered 6.8 million heads in 2023
- Brazil's pork production per pig slaughtered averaged 104.5 kg in 2023
- The Southeast region produced 456 thousand tons of pork in 2023
- Mato Grosso do Sul's pork output was 234 thousand tons in 2023
- Brazil's largest pork processor, BRF, produced 1.2 million tons equivalent in 2023
- JBS's pork division in Brazil output 850 thousand tons in 2023
- Average daily slaughter capacity in Brazil's pork plants was 145,000 heads in 2023
- Brazil invested R$2.8 billion in pork production infrastructure in 2023
- Piglet production in Brazil reached 58.4 million units in 2023
- Feed conversion ratio for Brazilian pigs improved to 2.65 kg/kg in 2023
- Minas Gerais pork production hit 189 thousand tons in 2023
- São Paulo state produced 167 thousand tons of pork in 2023
- Brazil's pork production growth rate was 4.7% from 2022 to 2023
- Number of pork slaughterhouses in Brazil: 1,234 in 2023
- Average pig price at farmgate was R$8.45/kg live weight in 2023
- Brazil's self-sufficiency in pork reached 105% in 2023
- Pork production in the North region was 45 thousand tons in 2023
- Northeast Brazil pork output: 67 thousand tons in 2023
- Central-West region's pork production: 612 thousand tons in 2023
Production and Output Interpretation
Brazil is feeding the world one pig at a time, with Paraná leading the charge and every part of the hog, from snout to tail, being optimized for maximum output, proving they've turned pork into a serious science and a booming business.
Sustainability and Health
- Brazil's pork industry GHG emissions: 4.2 million tons CO2eq in 2023
- Antibiotic use in Brazilian pork production: reduced 18% to 145 mg/kg in 2023
- Pork farms with environmental certification: 56% in 2023
- Water usage per kg pork: 4,500 liters in Brazil 2023
- Renewable energy in pork plants: 42% of total use in 2023
- Salmonella prevalence in Brazilian pork: 1.2% at slaughter in 2023
- Pork traceability systems coverage: 89% of production in 2023
- Manure management compliance: 92% of farms in 2023
- Biosecurity level 3 farms: 67% in pork sector 2023
- Pork export compliance with Chinese standards: 100% audited farms in 2023
- Animal welfare certification (GlobalG.A.P.): 34% of producers in 2023
- Deforestation linked to pork feed: 0.3% of soy area in 2023
- Carbon footprint per kg pork: 3.8 kg CO2eq in 2023
- Vaccination coverage against Aujeszky disease: 99.8% in 2023
- PRRS-free herds: 78% in major states in 2023
- Waste recycling in pork processing: 76% rate in 2023
- Organic pork production: 12 thousand tons in Brazil 2023
- Mycotoxin control in feed: 95% compliance in 2023
- E. coli O157:H7 incidence: 0.01% in samples 2023
- Sustainable soy sourcing for feed: 92% certified in 2023
Sustainability and Health Interpretation
Brazil's pork industry is wrestling a greased pig of contradictions: it's slashing antibiotics and boosting renewables while guzzling water and churning out emissions, proving that even a 92% manure compliance rate doesn't mean the sector's sh*t doesn't stink.
Sources & References
- Reference 1ABPA-BRabpa-br.orgVisit source
- Reference 2IBGEibge.gov.brVisit source
- Reference 3ABPA-BRabpa-br.org.brVisit source
- Reference 4EMBRAPAembrapa.brVisit source
- Reference 5FAOfao.orgVisit source
- Reference 6USDAusda.govVisit source
- Reference 7RIri.brf-global.comVisit source
- Reference 8RIri.jbs.com.brVisit source
- Reference 9GOVgov.brVisit source
- Reference 10CEPEAcepea.esalq.usp.brVisit source