More than just beans

Brazil emerges a major force in global meat markets

Since 2004, Brazil has been the world’s largest beef and poultry exporter and fourth largest pork exporter, with total meat sales generating over $8 billion in 2005. Exports have been driven by the combination of rising incomes in many parts of the world and Brazil’s ready availability of land and feed resources to support meat production.

Brazil achieved this position over the past decade as Brazilian agriculture benefited from economic stability, high international commodity prices, currency devaluations and technological advancements. Producers there also experienced expansion in arable land and large capital inflows from domestic and direct foreign investment.

Brazil is now the world’s largest beef-exporting country by volume (second largest exporter by value, behind Australia).

The presence of foot-and-mouth disease in the country, sanitary problems associated with cattle slaughter and sales of lower value cuts account for Brazil’s lagging in export value (per ton) relative to exporters from North America and Oceania. FMD also prevents Brazilian exports of fresh, chilled and frozen beef to important North American markets—the United States, Canada and Mexico—as well as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

Chilled, fresh and frozen exports account for just over 80 percent of Brazil’s beef trade and prepared/preserved beef accounts for nearly 20 percent.

Brazil is the world’s third largest pork exporter, accounting for 15 percent of global pork trade. Pork exports are largely frozen cuts, and Russia is the primary market (65 percent in 2005). Other export destinations are Hong Kong, Ukraine and Argentina.

Despite a new outbreak of FMD in 2005 that led several countries to ban meat imports from regions affected by the disease, Brazil will remain a significant player in world meat markets. Future increases in meat exports and greater access to the global market will depend on the ability to implement and maintain sanitary controls.

Brazil’s poultry meat exports account for 41 percent of global trade. More than two-thirds of exports are frozen chicken parts, 29 percent are whole frozen chickens and 3 percent are prepared or preserved. Export destinations include the EU-25, Middle Eastern countries, Japan, Russia and Hong Kong.

Disease a continuing threat

While meat sectors in a number of countries, including Brazil, have suffered serious damage from disease outbreaks. On a global scale, trade disruption by and consumer reaction to fears has been minimal. Global production, consumption and trade of pork and broiler meat have continued to grow through the animal disease episodes of the last decade, and global beef production and consumption have stayed relatively constant since 1990. In most cases, disease-related import bans have been mitigated by increasing supplies from domestic or alternative foreign sources of meat. Similarly, global feed use of corn has continued to rise, despite drops in annual corn use as high as 25 percent in certain countries.

Meat trade increasingly requires that a supply chain for meat can be identified that both the importing and exporting countries agree poses low risk of disease transmission. Such measures may lead to a reduction in the extent and duration of trade bans.

Compiled from USDA Economic Research reports.