Brazil Beef Imports Unlikely to Cut Domestic Prices, Analyst Says

The Brazilian government made the import of beef tariff-free this year to curb food inflation, but this will not change the current price scenario in the domestic market. Felipe Fabbri, market analyst at Scot Consultoria, assessed this during the Encontro de Confinadores (Feedlot Conference) held in Ribeirão Preto (SP) on Wednesday (April 8).

According to Fabbri, Brazil imports less than 1% of the beef it consumes, and most of it comes from Paraguay, Argentina, and Uruguay—South American countries already benefiting from zero tariffs through Mercosur. Additionally, the price per arroba (a Brazilian unit of measure for cattle, roughly 15 kg) in Brazil is lower than that of other exporters.
Fabbri argues that the real solution to reducing prices is stimulating the domestic supply chain.

He also points out that demand from China, the largest importer of Brazilian beef, is expected to remain strong this year. However, two key concerns are the ongoing trade war between the United States and China and the anti-dumping investigation into Brazilian beef imports. Due to the investigation, Fabbri notes that China may impose import quotas or raise tariffs.

Despite these concerns, the outlook for beef exports remains strong. Exports from January to March marked the best performance ever for a first quarter, and historically, the second half of the year tends to see even greater export volumes.

Source: Globo Rural

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