Beef exports up 52% in February, says Abrafrigo

Total beef exports (including fresh and processed products) from Brazil reached 231.16 thousand tonnes in February, marking a 52% increase compared to the same period last year, according to a study by the Brazilian Association of Slaughterhouses (Abrafrigo) released on March 8th based on federal government data.

The revenue generated from these shipments rose 33% to US$ 924.7 million, upended by the ongoing downward trend in beef export prices.

Abrafrigo reports that the average price per ton dropped from US$ 4,564 in February 2023 to US$ 4,000 last month, representing a 12.35% decrease.

In the first two months of this year, total beef exports have already generated revenue of US$ 1.855 billion, compared to US$ 1.545 billion in the same period last year (+20%). Meanwhile, the volume increased by 39% to 466.38 thousand tons.

“China remains the main buyer of Brazilian beef, increasing its imports at the beginning of this year, although its relative share of total Brazilian exports has decreased from 51.4% in 2023 to 41.6% in 2024 as the country has diversified its markets more,” highlighted the association in a statement.

In the first two months of 2023, China purchased 172,646 tons, while this year it acquired 194,135 tons (+12%). However, revenue increased by only 2% to US$ 857.5 million.

The average prices paid by China in the two-month period decreased from US$ 4,868 in 2023 to US$ 4,417 in 2024 (-9%).

The following chart shows Brazil’s beef export volume month-on-month from January 2022 to January 2024. The data is from DataLiner.

Beef Exports from Brazil | Jan 2022 – Jan 2024 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

In the second position, the United States has been gradually increasing its purchases of Brazilian beef, more than doubling its acquisitions in the first two months with a jump of 150% to 89,103 tons.

However, revenue increased from US$ 171.6 million to US$ 258.3 million in the period, a 50.5% increase, considering that average prices showed a sharp decline of 40% to US$ 2,899 per ton in 2024.

The United Arab Emirates ranked third and was the second country to increase its imports the most in percentage terms, according to Abrafrigo. Purchases surged from 6,202 tons in the first two months of 2023 to 26,749 tons in 2024 (+326.9%), with revenue rising from US$ 29 million to US$ 120.4 million.

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