The meat companies of Brazil processed unprecedented volumes of chicken and pork and recorded the second highest level of task of cattle in history, according to 2023 data published this Thursday by the national census office.
New data from statistics agency IBGE confirms that the neighboring country, which is the world’s largest supplier of beef and chicken and the fourth largest exporter of pork, is well positioned to maintain or expand its share in global trade. of meat.
Brazilian meat companies serve hundreds of customers around the world, and China and middle East They are among the main meat export destinations for the cereal and meat producing powerhouse.
World leader
IBGE said that the slaughter of cattle in Brazil, which commands around a quarter of global beef trade, grew almost 14% in 2023 to 34.06 million heads, continuing to expand from 2022. Brazil It is home to some of the largest meat companies in the world, such as JBS, BRF, Marfrig and Minerva.
The country exported 2.01 million metric tons of fresh beef last year, an all-time record, according to the IBGE. Only USA produces more beef than Brazil, but low cattle inventories there challenged beef producers in recent quarters, including Brazilians JBS and Marfrig.
Although cattle slaughter increased last year, Brazil continues to have one of the largest beef herds in the world, with more than 230 million heads, according to data from the IBGE.
Brazil is also highly competitive in the global chicken and pork trade, accounting for 37% and 13%, respectively, of total global sales, according to trade data compiled by meat lobby ABPA. Chicken and pig slaughter was also a record last year, totaling 6.28 billion and 57.17 million heads respectively, according to the IBGE.
The purchase of Marfrig by Minerva
Currently the Commission for the Promotion and Defense of Competition (Coprodec) of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) is analyzing the purchase operation of the three refrigerators that Marfrig It has in Uruguay for de side of the company Minerva Foods.
Last week, Coprodec decided to extend the deadline for submitting considerations from the parties involved as well as third parties in relation to the operation. The initial date for the deadline was March 14, however, Coprodec decided to extend it until March 19 with the aim of continuing to deepen the evaluation, for which it also required “additional information from the parties and third parties.”
In mid-February, the MEF organization announced the transition to Stage II of concentration in the Minerva-Marfrig operation, in the process that began last November 1. With this news, “interested third parties” will be able to “formulate the allegations that they consider relevant, regarding possible changes or impacts on the conditions of competition in the markets that they understand may be affected,” according to the official notification of the organization.
The operation generated controversy from the beginning and both political leaders and businessmen in the sector spoke out against it, considering that there may be concentration, since Minerva would accumulate 45% of the Uruguayan work.
In recent days, the president of the National Meat Institute (INAC), Conrado Ferber, who, although he chose “not to make public the fears or objections,” noted: “We have technical support that is sufficient for us, but obviously there are also technical reasons to allow the merger. There are a number of pros and cons, but the cons far outweigh the pros.”
For Ferber, The acquisition “does not contribute to a market that in our country is quite clear and balanced, it is not perfect, but we understand that this would be absolutely distorting” and he stated “it is a risk in the main business of the country.”
Source: Ambito
