Pork and poultry exports from Brazil are forecast to increase as demand from Chinese consumers grows, Reuters reports.

The news agency cites data from the Brazilian Animal Protein Association, the country’s meat processors’ organisation, suggesting the South American country is on track to export a record 4.39 million tonnes of poultry this year, an increase of 2.1 percent over last year’s tonnage.

Pork shipments could reach 720,000 tonnes this year, representing a 29.7-percent annual increase.

Next year, the association expects growth of about 5 percent for pork exports and between 3 percent and 5 percent for poultry shipments.

In the first 11 months of the year, Hong Kong and the Mainland bought 451,000 tonnes of Brazilian poultry, a rise of 63 percent compared the same period last year. Pork exports have more than doubled so far this year.