Live pig prices in the independent market ended the month of April with drops in all regions monitored by the Center for Advanced Studies in Applied Economics (Cepea) at Esalq/USP.
Prices were pressured by weakened demand. The biggest monthly drop was recorded in Santa Catarina. Producer prices fell 7.57% in April, with the Cepea/Esalq indicator closing the 30th at R$5.62 per kilo.
The smallest reduction occurred in Minas Gerais, where the price ended the month at R$ 6.37 per kilo, a drop of just 0.16% on a monthly basis. According to Cepea, in Minas Gerais, buyers were more active in acquiring new batches of animals, leading pig farmers in that state to positively readjust their values at various periods of the month, which limited the fall in the month.
For meat, the wholesale price negotiated in Greater São Paulo presented an average price of R$9.30 per kilo on the 30th, which represents a monthly drop of 1.26%.
Despite the devaluation of carcasses, agents consulted by Cepea reported an improvement in sales at the end of April.
As for exports, the volume of pork shipped in the first 20 working days of April already exceeds that shipped in the previous month, interrupting the downward trend observed since February.
According to data from the Secretariat of Foreign Trade (Secex), 86.8 thousand tons of the fresh product were sent abroad in April, and, if this pace continues, the total could reach 95.4 thousand tons, a greater volume until then for this year.
