April 30, 2020

Chief financial officer Edison Ticle said Minerva, the largest exporter of beef in South America aims to export more meat to countries affected by production disruptions due to COVID-19 such as the United States, reported Reuters.

Ticle said the company is already exporting more meat to the United States and other countries that previously purchased from the United States, adding that there is also increased demand from China.

68% of Minerva's sales from export markets, with facilities located in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Colombia.

Ticle did not provide a growth forecast for exports but he said at one time, export sales accounted for 80% of the company’s business.

20% of all beef exported from South America comes from Minerva, he said.

The company reported a 271 million BRL (~US$49 million; 1 BRL = US$0.19) net profit in the first quarter of the year, reversing a 31.4 million BRL (~US$ 5.8 million) loss that occurred last year during the same period. Its net revenue jumped 11.8% to 4.16 billion BRL (~US$757 million).