Brazilian beef exports hit a record high in the first half of the year

Sales of beef in the Brazilian market are growing at a slow pace. In this scenario, along with strong dollar-to-real values, slaughterhouses continue to target the international market. As a result, the volume of beef exported by Brazil in the first half of 2022 and the revenue generated reached a record high for this period.

Importantly, this is supporting domestic feedstock prices, which remained high from January to June. And record beef exports in the first half of the year were supported mainly by purchases from China and the United States .

Given the pace of shipments in recent years, with exports to both countries typically picking up in the second half of the year, sales in Brazil could hold up in the coming months, setting a new yearly record. Including beef exports, more than 1 million tons were shipped by Brazil from January to June 2022, with half of this volume (50.84% ​​or 539.98 thousand tons) going to China , according to Secex. Exports to China increased by 35% compared to the same period in 2021. As a result, China has been the main consumer of Brazilian beef for three years now.

The US was also an important trading partner. The United States ranked second among the top destinations for Brazilian beef in the first semester (the position previously held by Hong Kong) with 78,000 tons, up 84% from January to June 2021, according to Secex data.

Egypt is in the third position: this year the country purchased 70.9 thousand tons of beef, which is more than three times the volume of exports in the first half of 2021 (21.2 thousand tons).