Brazil's pork production is expected to increase 2% to 3% next year amid cooling economic growth, though exports will likely expand at a faster pace, the Brazilian Pork Producing and Exporting Industry Association, or Abipecs, said Tuesday.

Pork output is expected to close 2011 at 3.4 million metric tons, an increase of 4.9% from last year, Abipecs officials said in a press conference.

Jurandi Machado, Abipecs director for the domestic market, said hog producers have invested less in growth for next year due to worries about both the global economy and demand from Brazil, which is in the midst of a moderate slowdown.

More of Brazil's pork stayed inside the country this year, with exports dropping 3.7%, to around 520,000 tons. The fall was largely due to Russia--traditionally, the local industry's main foreign market--blocking meat imports from three Brazilian states since June.

Abipecs President Pedro de Camargo Neto said the duration of the embargo, which was based on sanitary concerns, has surprised the industry.

"At the time, I wouldn't have thought we'd go six months without Russia," he said, noting that Russians had been importing around 200,000 tons of Brazil's pork per year before the embargo.

On a brighter note, local producers have been working aggressively to expand their presence in Asia. Brazil began exporting pork directly to China in November and expects to get the green light from Japan and Korea in the first half of 2012.

Neto said China could import 50,000 tons of Brazilian pork next year, allowing Brazil's total exports to approach the 600,000-ton mark.

"The big question is Russia," he said.

-By Paul Kiernan, Dow Jones Newswires; (+55)11-3544-7074, paul.kiernan@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 06, 2011 14:27 ET (19:27 GMT)