Brazil’s beef exports grow 27% in the first semester

According to the Brazilian Association of Refrigerators (Abrafrigo), total exports of Brazilian beef increased 27% in the first semester of this year compared to the same period of 2018, reaching 828,669 tons.

The agency also reported that revenues from both fresh and processed beef shipments also grew, reaching sales of US$3.1bn, up 17% from the first six months of last year.

China remains the main destination for Brazilian exports of the product, despite having reduced its market share from 45.3% in the first semester of 2018 to 38.4% of shipments in the first six months of this year. Still, the amount purchased by the Chinese rose 7% during this period, to 317,828 tons.

For the entity, the increase in exports in the first semester and the percentage reduction in Chinese participation were driven by advances in shipments to Egypt, the second main destination of the Brazilian product, with a 12% increase, and by significant growth in sales to nations such as Turkey (+870%), Russia (+865%), and United Arab Emirates (+443%).

Even with the momentary embargo imposed by China at the beginning of June, the month ended with a strong increase of 107% in export volumes of fresh and processed beef compared to the same period of 2018, with a total of 134,377 tons shipped, according to Abrafrigo. It is worth remembering that in June 2018 exports were hampered by a historic strike by truck drivers against the high prices of diesel.

The following Dataliner graph shows Brazilian beef exports to China from January 2015 to May 2019.

Source: Reuters

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