MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US beef and poultry become highly competitive as costs soar in Mercosur

JBS CEO Wesley Batista: cheap dollar is boosting US exports

Brazil’s JBS SA, the world’s biggest beef producer, is betting on a rebound in U.S. meat sales as a weak dollar makes production in the country as competitive as in emerging markets.

The US is gaining market share of beef, pork and poultry exports as labour, raw-material and other costs surge in Brazil and neighbouring Uruguay and Argentina and other emerging markets, Chief Executive Officer Wesley Batista said in an interview.

US poultry, beef and pork prices will increase “significantly” by year-end as overseas demand rises, he anticipated.

“For the first time in more than a hundred years, beef production costs in the US are the same as those in Brazil and other Mercosur members” Batista said at the Bloomberg office in Sao Paulo. “A weak dollar is boosting U.S. exports and transforming the country into a very competitive protein player.”

JBS became the world’s second-largest poultry producer and the US biggest pork company through 11 acquisitions since 2008, including Pilgrim’s Pirde Corp and Smithfield Foods Inc. US beef export volumes jumped 31% and pork exports rose 19% through April this year, the latest data available, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

Emerging market currencies gained, on average, 13% against the US dollar in the past 12 months, according to JPMorgan Chase Bank.