Brazil’s pork exports hit April record, but prices weigh on domestic market

Brazil exported 138,300 tonnes of pork in April, the highest volume ever recorded for the month in the historical series maintained by the Foreign Trade Secretariat (Secex), which began in 1997. Despite the record, the result was down 9.1% from March, when shipments totaled 152,200 tonnes. Compared with April 2025, however, exports rose 8.2%.

According to Cepea, based on Secex data, this was the fifth consecutive monthly record for the respective months of the year. The research center said the streak reflects the strategy adopted by the sector in recent months, marked by a stronger push toward foreign markets amid weaker domestic consumption. The expectation was that higher international shipments would help reduce domestic supply and support prices in the Brazilian market.

That movement, however, has not yet been enough to reverse the pressure on domestic prices. Cepea estimates that exports accounted for about 26% of national production in April, while pork prices continued to fall in the domestic market.

Take a look at the track record for Brazilian pork exports since January 2023. The following chart was compiled using intelligence from Datamar’s DataLiner platform:

Brazilian Pork Exports | Jan 2022 – Mar 2026 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

Among destinations for Brazilian pork, Chile was one of the month’s highlights. Chilean purchases rose 5.5% from March to April, reaching 11,200 tonnes. As a result, the country became the fourth-largest buyer of Brazilian pork in 2026. According to Secex, Chile was the only one of the five main destinations to increase purchases during the period.

Japan also remained a key destination, despite a 9% drop in purchases between March and April. Even so, the volume shipped to the Japanese market was the second largest ever recorded in Secex’s historical series. From January to April, shipments to the Asian country rose 75% from the same period in 2025.

With that performance, Japan consolidated its position as the second-largest destination for Brazilian pork, ahead of traditional partners such as China.

In the first four months of the year, Brazilian pork exports totaled 526,400 tonnes, up 14.4% from the same period last year, also according to Secex data.

Source: Cepea Pork Bulletin

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