Brazil sees record pig slaughter in 2021

According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) in 2021, 52.97 million pigs were slaughtered, which represents an increase of 7.3% (+3.61 million head) compared to 2020.

Each month saw positive year-on-year growth, with March having the largest increase (+475,090 head). Exports helped the country's pork industry, which faced a difficult scenario with the increase in production costs.

In 2021, Santa Catalina maintained its position as the state with the highest pig slaughter, with 28.4% of the national slaughter, followed by the states of Paraná (20.3%) and Rio Grande do Sul (17.5%).

In the fourth quarter of 2021, 13.38 million head of pigs were slaughtered, an increase of 6.5% compared to the same period in 2020 and a decrease of 2.7% compared to the third quarter of 2021.