Brazil's livestock production presented impressive growth in the last 30 years or so. The increase in chicken production was faster (at an average rate of 10% per year) and almost uninterrupted. The pork production remained almost stagnated from 1970 until 1985, when a new growth pattern began maintaining an average annual rate of 6%. The egg production growth has been also expressive (at rate of 5% per year), but from 1970 to 1985 the rate that was 8% and fell to 3% thereafter. The milk production, on the other hand, presented a practically constant yearly average growth rate of 4% over the last 30 years (Table 2.1).
