South American agricultural exports totalled US$175 billion in 2014, more than triple that of
2000. Its principal markets outside of the continent include Asia, the European Union and North America. Brazil’s agricultural exports, valued at US$83 billion in 2014, accounted for nearly half of South America’s total.
Robust international demand is expected to drive export growth, with Buffalo exports forecast to reach 11.5 million tonnes in 2020, an increase of 4% on 2019. Buffalo meat will continue to be highly traded, fueled by increasing consumption, low supply growth and increasing demand from the developing world. Broad global consumer trends affecting Buffalo consumption through foodservice and retail channels include shift towards more fresh and less processed offerings.
Although bison still have many of their wild tendencies and are only semi-domesticated, they are an agricultural alternative that may be appropriate for some small-scale and part-time farms. Bison adapt to a wide range of environments, feed sources, and management systems.
In Argentina, the pork industry has almost doubled in size, propelled by domestic demand. Government promotion of cheaper pork products to free up the more lucrative beef export market, combined with soaring inflation has driven consumers toward less expensive protein sources such as pork and poultry.
During the recent decade, poultry farmers in the region have produced millions of tonnes of poultry, feeding the poultry sector with nutritious and inexpensive food. Meanwhile, these products have also satisfied much demand on the international market. The poultry sector in South American contributes approx. 20% of the production of poultry meat and eggs worldwide.
International sales of exported sheep and lamb meat totaled US$7.62 billion in 2019, up by 27.2% for all sheep and lamb meat shippers over the five-year period starting in 2015. Year over year, the value of exported meat garnered from sheep and lambs decreased by -1.1% from 2018 to 2019.