Brazil reached a herd of 7.96 million heads of confined cattle this year, which represents an increase of 11% over the 7.2 million recorded last year. The estimate is from the confinement census carried out by the global animal nutrition company dsm-firmenich. According to the company, the evolution rate exceeded the historical average of 9%.
In regional terms, the Central-West continued to lead in the volume of confined cattle, with 46.9% of the total, compared to 27% in the Southeast. The census showed that the highest growth rate was achieved by Mato Grosso, followed by Pará, São Paulo and Tocantins.
This year, the trend of more pronounced growth in areas with large confinements (over 10 thousand heads) continued, while stability was recorded in smaller spaces.
The 17 largest producers house 1.458 million heads and the 100 largest represent almost half (49%) of the Brazilian confined herd.
dsm-firmenich also made an overview of Brazilian livestock farming during the year. According to Túlio Ramalho, director of the company’s Ruminants Unit for Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, the first half of the year was “calmer” in terms of prices, a period marked by the record number of females slaughtered.
As demand at the time did not keep up with the greater supply, the price of live cattle fell.
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This situation changed in the second half of the year, when the domestic market heated up and the real depreciated against the dollar, while exports rose.
With slaughter schedules tight, the price of live cattle rose, reaching a peak of R$353 per arroba in the last week of November.
Exports, in particular, did well during this period, representing more than 40% of the total sold, above the historical average of 30%.
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According to Ramalho, although China should continue to stand out among the markets for Brazilian beef in 2025, it is possible to predict that destination diversification will be a hallmark in the years ahead. The US market, for example, has been increasing purchases, especially of premium meats.
