(Bloomberg) -- Marfrig Global Foods SA posted the highest third-quarter earnings in three years as the Brazilian meat giant benefited from a surge in chicken profits and beef exports. 

Earnings before items such as interest and taxes were 3.9 billion ($670 million) in the third quarter, the Sao Paulo-based meat producer said on Wednesday. That’s up 60% from a year earlier and the highest for the period since 2021.

Results were helped by a record quarter at BRF SA, Brazil’s largest chicken producer that’s is more than 50% owned by Marfrig. Marfrig’s South American business also benefited from 30 new export permits, which allowed the company to ship to countries that usually pay more like Mexico and the US. 

“Exports prices are on the rise — only in October there was an increase of more than 10% on beef prices paid by China and markets in North America are paying above that,” Marfrig’s Chief Executive Officer Rui Mendonça Junior said in a call with reporters. 

Meat producers including JBS SA and Tyson Foods Inc. have benefited from a strong demand for chicken, as consumers continued to look for cheaper alternatives to beef. Low prices for corn and soybeans - a key ingredient for animal feed - also helped companies to control costs while a US cattle shortage keeps eroding beef profits.  

Marfrig’s chicken business BRF SA reported Ebitda of about 3 billion reais, a record for the third quarter, according to a separate earnings statement. Results also beat analyst expectations. 

BRF accounted for 76% of Marfrig’s earnings in the same period. 

Earnings were boosted by improvements in factory efficiency, the expansion of export markets and growth in sales of processed foods, said BFR CEO Miguel Gularte. 

The company expects chicken sales from Brazil to benefit next year if President-elect Donald Trump presses ahead with promises to slap tariffs on Chinese products. 

“China is a major source of chicken and pork demand due to limitation of local production and rising incomes,” Gularte said in a call with reporters. “Chicken has room to grow in the country.”

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