During the month of March, wholesale chicken meat prices in Greater São Paulo have shown a downward trend, however, at a lower intensity compared to its competitors, such as beef and pork. This scenario has raised concerns about the competitiveness of poultry protein.
According to experts from the Center for Advanced Studies in Applied Economics (Cepea) at Esalq/USP, chicken meat values, which had been recording increases since mid-January, began to decline in the second half of February, mainly due to weakened demand. in the market.
Regarding bird slaughter, although the sector has adopted the strategy of reducing bird housing from the second quarter of 2023, the number of slaughters last year was a record, reaching 6.2 billion animals, according to data from IBGE. This represented an increase of 2.8% compared to the previous year, marking an increasing trend in poultry production.
Cepea highlights that the year 2023 was characterized by a significant drop in the prices of chicken meat and live chicken, due to high domestic supply. This market dynamic has directly impacted the competitiveness of chicken meat in relation to its competitors, posing additional challenges for the poultry sector to face in the current scenario.
