BEEF QUALITY

Douglas Leal
Nov 5
2 min read

Brazil is one of the world’s leading beef producers — the result of decades of investment in technology that has increased not only productivity but also the quality of Brazilian beef, making it competitive and expanding its presence to over 150 countries.

In 2015, the country ranked as the holder of the largest cattle herd (209 million head), the second-largest consumer (38.6 kg per capita per year), and the second-largest exporter (1.9 million tons) of beef in the world, with more than 39 million cattle slaughtered. About 80% of the beef consumed by Brazilians is produced domestically — the processing industry has a slaughtering capacity of nearly 200,000 cattle per day.

Beef exports already account for 3% of Brazil’s total exports and generate revenue of 6 billion reais. The sector represents 6% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or 30% of the Agribusiness GDP, moving over 400 billion reais — an increase of nearly 45% in the last five years.

Qualidade da carne bovina - Cadeia produtiva da carne bovina

EVOLUTION OF THE VALUE CHAIN

Forty years ago, the image of Brazil’s beef market was quite different. The herd barely reached half of today’s size (209 million head), imports were needed to meet domestic demand, serious sanitary issues limited exports, and degraded pastures characterized many farms. Productivity was low.

Over the past four decades, Brazilian cattle ranching has undergone a revolutionary modernization, driven by technological advances in production systems and improvements in the organization of the value chain — with clear impacts on meat quality. The herd has more than doubled, while pasture areas have grown little or even decreased in some regions — a clear sign of higher productivity.

There has also been an increase in animal weight gain, lower mortality rates, higher birth rates, and shorter slaughter times. These gains have been made possible thanks to the growing adoption of technologies by rural producers, especially in the areas of feeding, genetics, management, and animal health.

Learn below about some of the technological solutions that have helped improve the quality of Brazilian beef in recent years.