Reuters reports that both companies reported late on 12 May that they had swung to first quarter profits after losses a year ago.

JBS, which gets most revenue from sales in North America, booked a quarterly profit of 2.045 billion reais ($386 million), while BRF, which sells a majority of its volumes in Brazil, booked a more meager 22 million reais ($4.15 million) profit.

"It was a quarter different from what we dreamed of in 2020," BRF Chief Executive Lorival Luz said in a call with journalists on 13 May.

He told Reuters that BRF, the world's largest poultry exporter, was considering earlier slaughter for chickens and temporary stoppages at its pork and poultry plants in response to record corn prices.

Credit Suisse analysts Victor Saragiotto and Felipe Viera expressed concern about what they called "concerning dynamics" at BRF.