Brazil: The best half-year results for beef exports in history
According to the report, in the first half of 2024, beef exports totaled 1.29 million tons, an increase of 27.3% compared to the same period in 2023 (1.019 million tons), which resulted in revenue of US$ 5.69 billion - an increase of 17%, compared to the first half of 2023 -, a value surpassed only in 2022, when first-half results totaled more than US$ 6.19 billion, in a pandemic scenario.
In June 2024, exports totaled 220,184 tons, generating US$ 953.09 million, a slightly lower result than in the previous two months, when a record number of shipments was recorded.
Asian countries accounted for 52% of the Brazilian beef market in the first half of the year. The largest markets by region were the Middle East and North Africa, which accounted for 20.8% of the total. This region saw the largest increases in Brazilian beef shipments in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. There was a 91% increase in total shipments, totaling 120,000 more tons exported this year.
North and Latin America were the destination for 15.7% of exports, followed by Europe and Central Asia, which accounted for 10.2% of all beef sold by Brazil. Exports to these regions grew by 25% and 43% in volume, respectively. For Sub-Saharan Africa, growth was 25.6%, with 4,000 tons more in the first six months of the year.
Results of Brazilian beef exports in the first half of the last few years:
Year |
US$ – thousand |
Tons |
2020 |
3,918,591 |
907,943 |
2021 |
4,084,122 |
875,169 |
2022 |
6,193,415 |
1,059,111 |
2023 |
4,865,315 |
1,019,345 |
2024 |
5,691,934 |
1,297,973 |
Results by country
The countries that imported the most beef from Brazil in 2024 were: China, which imported 565,654 tons and US$ 2.5 billion, with a 10.2% growth in volume. Next came the United Arab Emirates, which imported almost 95 thousand tons (an increase of 238% compared to the first half of 2023) and US$ 435 million; the United States, with imports of 85,395 tons (an increase of 19.7%) and revenue of US$ 515 million.
In fourth place is Hong Kong, destination of 61 thousand tons of Brazilian meat (up 10.6%) and revenue of US$ 196 million, followed by Chile (purchases of 48,726 tons – an increase of 9.4%) and US$ 229 million.
In the same period, fresh beef accounted for 87.7% of the volume shipped by Brazil (totaling 1.13 million tons). Most of the fresh beef exported by Brazil is boneless, representing 88% of the total. However, access to bone-in beef is still limited in some countries due to the need to change health agreements. The largest market for bone-in beef this year was Malaysia, which purchased 2,168 tons, followed by Paraguay, with 1,542 tons, Morocco (905 tons), Angola (619 tons) and Singapore (467 tons).
According to Abiec president Antonio Jorge Camardelli, Brazil remains firmly in the global leadership of beef exports and the sector is working intensively, together with ApexBrasil, to open new markets and consolidate existing ones. “Currently, Brazilian beef is already present in 158 markets, but we still have room to penetrate countries such as Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and Turkey, which represent around 25% of the global demand for beef", says Camardelli, who highlighted the various events and other international agendas for promoting the product, through the Brazilian Beef project. For the second half of the year, the Brazilian Beef schedule includes actions such as participation in missions, promotion fairs, congresses and events on the climate and environmental agenda and specific events to promote Brazilian beef.
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