The association released its annual report, Brazilian Livestock Profile, which analyses how the livestock sector performed in 2017 and what they have planned for 2018.
The report described 2017 for Brazilian livestock as a “challenging period”, but said the difficulties “strengthened” the sector during the close of the year by improving processes and strengthening the dialogue with countries that imported Brazilian meat.
During the end of 2017, the report stated that Brazilian beef exports generated US$6.2 billion in revenue, a 13% increase on 2016. In volume, shipments totalled 1.53m tonnes, a 9% rise compared to the same period in the previous year.
Antonio Jorge Camardelli, president of the Brazilian Beef Exporters Association, said these figures showed Brazil’s strengths as the world’s leading beef supplier and revealed the sector’s ability to react and refine its production models to meet market needs.
“We estimate that, in 2018, we will have an increase in volume shipped and growth in export sales,” said Camardelli. “New markets are one of the focuses for the association, which also intends to increase the presence of Brazilian products in partner countries, always guided by the principles of ethics and transparency.
“For this to be efficient, we have to maintain a solid and reliable base of information, as well as business intelligence.”
Brazil has come under scrutiny from the international meat industry for the past 18 months for its part in the historic JBS corruption. Following the discovery of the corruption, more firms were ‘named and shamed’ and have been investigated by the federal government, such as BRF for allegedly covering up salmonella in its products.