Cattle slaughter in Brazil grows 11% and is the highest in ten years

Livestock

There were 8.85 million heads in the third quarter of 2023, but yield per animal fell to the lowest level since 2018

Alexandre Inacio


Nov 9, 2023 11:58 am

Cattle slaughter in Brazil totaled 8.85 million heads from July to September 2023. The quarterly result is 11.15% higher than the same period last year and the highest recorded by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) since 2013.

The number reflects the greater availability of animals on the domestic market, due to the livestock cycle. In recent years, ranchers have retained sows to take advantage of higher calf prices. Now, these animals arrive on the market ready for slaughter.

The movement to increase the supply of animals began to be noticed at the beginning of 2022. Since then, the volume of slaughter has grown, benefiting slaughterhouses, which buy their main raw material cheaper.

The 8.85 million animals slaughtered between July and September yielded 2.35 million tons of beef carcass (meat still with the bone). Although the number represents a growth of 8.9% compared to the same period in 2022, it hides a relevant fact: the yield was lower.

In practice, Brazil is producing less meat per animal. In the third quarter of this year, each head generated 244.59 kilos of carcass. This yield was 10% lower than the 271.86 kilos produced per animal in the third quarter of 2022, and fell to the lowest level in the last five years.

CHICKEN AND PIGS

According to IBGE, chicken slaughters between July and September 2023 grew 3.1%, compared to the third quarter of last year, to 1.57 billion birds. Thus, production began to grow again, after the drop recorded in the second quarter of the year.

Pig slaughters had a modest increase of 0.5% compared to last year and closed the third quarter at 14.6 million heads slaughtered. The performance also represents a recovery, after the drop observed in the second quarter.