SAO PAULO, Feb 1 (Reuters) -

Freight costs in Brazil for the country's exporters to ship both nationally and internationally have fallen to pre-pandemic levels, bolstering meatpackers export outlook following the end of Chinese lockdowns, Miguel Gularte, chief executive at Brazilian meat processor BRF SA, said on Wednesday.

Gularte also told journalists more BRF food factories would receive export permits over the next 40 days.

A drop in transportation costs, including road freight to move soy and corn used as livestock feed, will help the company's operating performance, he said.

"We are seeing not only international freight fall... but also national freight," Gularte said.

BRF shares rose 7.9% at the end of business hours, making it the top performer of the benchmark Bovespa index .

Gularte declined to estimate the reduction in logistical costs.

"This is a very recent thing, freight contracts have started to return to normality in the last 20 to 30 days," the executive said. (Reporting by Roberto Samora Writing by Ana Mano Editing by Chris Reese and Diane Craft)