The cumulative swine slaughter between January and August totaled 5,322,746 head, an increase of 4.6% compared to the same period of the previous year.

80.5% of the pigs slaughtered in the period were finishing pigs, while the results by province showed that Buenos Aires accounted for 50.2% of the slaughtered pigs with 2,673,219 heads.

Specifically for the month of August, slaughtering reached 711,765 heads, the highest figure so far this year, which represents an increase of 2.4% compared to the same month in 2022 and an increase of 6.2% compared to July of this year.

Santa Catarina exported 62,300 tons of pork (fresh, processed, and offal) in August, up 15.8% on the previous month's exports and up 0.3% compared to August 2022. This is the highest monthly amount of pork exported by Santa Catarina since the beginning of the historical series in 1997. The figures were released by the Ministry of Economy and analyzed by the Center for Socioeconomics and Agricultural Planning (Epagri/Cepa) in the September Agricultural Bulletin.

Revenues, in turn, amounted to US$146.8 million, up 10.0% on the previous month, but down 2.1% on August 2022. This figure represents the third-best monthly result in the entire historical series. From January to August, Santa Catarina exported 435,900 tons of pork, with revenues of US$1.07 billion, an increase of 11.0% and 18.7%, respectively, compared to the same period in 2022.

Proportionally, Chile was the country with the biggest increase in pork purchases from Santa Catarina: 74.2% increase in terms of quantity compared to the previous month, and 89.5% growth in revenues. The Philippines, which is the second largest destination for pork from Santa Catarina, increased its purchases by 21.3%, with an increase of 32.3% in terms of revenue. Japan, on the other hand, saw a 40.8% increase in the quantity purchased and a 23.2% increase in revenue.

According to data available at the Observatório Agro Catarinense, Santa Catarina accounted for 56.6% of the revenue generated by pork exports from Brazil this year.

Once again, the national pig herd reached a record 44.4 million head, after a growth of 4.3% compared to the previous edition of the survey.

Despite the difficulties faced by the industry, especially with high production costs, the growth in the number of sows and pigs, as well as in pig slaughter (a record in 2022), continued to be driven by pork exports, which reached the second best result in the series in 2022. China continues to be the main destination, but with a smaller share of the total volume exported, according to Secex data. Domestic consumption also continued to grow (7.8%), reaching 18 kilos per capita.

The three main federative units in terms of livestock are those that make up the Southern Region, so in terms of pig farming, this region is the leader among the Major Regions, a position it has held since the beginning of the survey series, and in 2022 it was responsible for 51.9% of the total number of animals. Santa Catarina leads with 22.1% of the national herd, which is equivalent to 9.8 million head, followed by Paraná with 15.8%, and Rio Grande do Sul with 13.9%. Not coincidentally, these are also the states, in the same order, with the highest number of pigs slaughtered in the country.

In fourth place is Minas Gerais (12.7%) and Mato Grosso in fifth (6.6%) - and the Southeast and Midwest appear to be the next largest production regions after the South, with 16.6% and 14.1% of the total, respectively.

Toledo (Paraná) once again had the largest municipal herd, followed by Uberlândia (Minas Gerais), Marechal Cândido Rondon (Paraná), Tapurah (Mato Grosso), and Concórdia (Santa Catarina) rounding off the list of the top five municipalities, which together account for 3.1 million animals.