June 30, 2004
Brazilian 2003 Beef Exports Up To 16% From 5% In 1990
Brazilian beef exports, as a percentage of total production, have increased from 5% in 1990 to about 16% in 2003, according to information from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service web site, dated June 3 and released Tuesday.
In 2003, Brazil surpassed the United States in becoming the world's second largest beef exporter after Australia. Over the last decade, Brazil's beef industry has pursued genetic improvements and technological innovation to boost productivity. The average slaughter age, for example, has fallen from 54 to 38 months.
Although the industry is still relatively fragmented, beef production is increasingly export oriented. Today, there are an estimated 600,000 producers, but less than 5% of these producers have herds of over 1,000 head. Still, beef exports, as a percentage of total production, have increased from 5% in 1990 to about 16% in 2003.
As beef production is predominantly grass-fed (only an estimated 5% of Brazil's production originates from confined feedlots), Brazil has also worked to capitalize on the perceived minimized risk of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy. Notwithstanding periodic outbreaks of Foot-and-Mouth disease in neighboring Paraguay, Brazil is also increasingly winning acceptance as being FMD-free with vaccination.
In 2004, Brazil is expected to export 1.35 million tons of beef and will probably overtake Australia as the world's largest beef exporter. While the European Union, Chile and Egypt are likely to remain top markets for Brazilian beef, Brazilian exporters are also very keen to address lingering concerns with FMD in order to reach lucrative Asian markets, particularly in China and Japan.
Following the very successful export model of the poultry industry, Brazilian beef exports are progressively emphasizing higher value products, the report said. Fresh / chilled meat cuts for example have risen from about 6% of total beef exports in 1998 to 20% in 2003.
Source: USDA
