Meat and tobacco push Rio Grande do Sul agribusiness to strong Q3 2025 performance

Rio Grande do Sul’s agribusiness maintained a significant share of the state’s exports in the 3rd quarter of 2025, reaching US$4.4 billion in foreign sales — equivalent to 73.3% of the state’s total exports. Although the quarter saw a 3.2% drop compared with the same period in 2024, the performance of tobacco and meats helped cushion the decline caused by reduced soybean supply due to drought.

The data are from the Indicadores do Agronegócio do RS bulletin, released this Tuesday (11/18) by the Department of Economics and Statistics, linked to the Secretariat for Planning, Governance and Management (DEE/SPGG). Prepared by researcher Sérgio Leusin Júnior, the report presents information on exports in the third quarter and the year-to-date results, as well as formal employment in agribusiness.

Growth of tobacco and meats

Tobacco and its products showed the highest absolute growth of the quarter, up 23%, driven by unmanufactured tobacco. The meat sector grew 16.9%, with beef (+94.5%) leading the way due to increased sales to China and the resumption of exports to Russia. Pork rose 27.7%, with higher sales to the Philippines, Argentina, Vietnam, and Mexico.

These results helped soften the impact of the drop in soybean complex exports, which fell 12.8% due to a 25.2% reduction in harvested output, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

Export destinations

China remained the main destination for agribusiness exports from Rio Grande do Sul, accounting for 38.7% of the total, followed by the European Union (13.9%), Vietnam (3.7%), the United States (3.4%), and the Philippines (3.2%).

Among the markets with the highest absolute growth, the highlights were the Philippines, up 167.6% (+US$ 89.7 million), driven by pork exports; Switzerland, up 2,885% (+US$ 64.4 million), concentrated in unmanufactured tobacco — reaching a historic record and elevating the European country to the position of second-largest buyer of the state’s tobacco in the international market; and South Korea, with an increase of 100.2% (+US$ 58.1 million), resulting from higher sales of soybean meal and tobacco.

These advances reflect a partial reorientation of the state’s export mix, especially in response to the commercial restrictions imposed by the tariff war and the decline in sales to some traditional partners.

Tariff war

The Technical Note highlights localized effects of the global U.S. tariff shock, with impacts on specific markets. The sectors most affected were tobacco and its products, and leather and hides, both heavily exposed to the U.S. market.

Despite the losses, the DEE bulletin states that there is no systemic vulnerability for agribusiness in Rio Grande do Sul, but it does indicate sector-specific impacts and short-term signals that require monitoring. The state has managed to redirect shipments toward alternative markets, such as Switzerland, mitigating the tariff effects on export performance.

Year-to-date results and job creation

From January to September 2025, agribusiness exports from Rio Grande do Sul totaled US$ 10.8 billion, the equivalent of 70.3% of the state’s foreign sales. The tobacco (+13%) and meat (+14.3%) segments maintained growth in the year-to-date results, while the soybean complex fell 16.3%.

In the labor market, the sector closed the quarter with a negative balance of 4,800 formal jobs, influenced mainly by the seasonal nature of the tobacco industry. Traditionally, the second and third quarters are marked by the partial reduction of the workforce hired on a temporary basis in the first months of the year to handle harvest, receiving, processing and marketing of the summer crop.

However, for the year to date, agribusiness has generated a positive balance of 17,400 jobs — the second-highest result in the series that began in 2020. In the overall economy of Rio Grande do Sul, the balance is also positive, with 78,500 jobs created through September. Thus, agribusiness accounted for 22.2% of the jobs created in the state in 2025.

The main highlights in job generation were meat slaughtering and processing (+4,700), tobacco product manufacturing (+3,500) and the manufacturing of tractors and agricultural machinery (+2,700).

Source: Governo do Rio Grande do Sul 

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