Brazil: April Beef Exports Decrease Due to Slower Supply to China

Brazil exported 521.42 thousand tons of natural beef between January and April, down 17% from the same period last year, but still up 11.24% from the first four months of 2021, according to Secex. of the year. Thus, despite last month's decline, EXPORT figures for the first four months of 2023 are the second-highest of all time, given the same period in previous years.

The low volume of exports in April reflects the suspension of shipments to CHINA , which lasted for a month (between February 23 and March 23). News agencies recently reported that China announced it would allow the import of Brazilian beef stored and produced before Feb. 21, but the Asian country did not allow shipments shipped after Feb. 23.

This means that many slaughterhouses may still have beef in stock. This context prompted buyers to reduce purchases for slaughter, which put pressure on cattle prices . Also, the increase in the supply of slaughter animals puts pressure on prices , mainly at this time of the year, when pastures begin to deteriorate due to weather conditions. In April, the CEPEA/B3 index for fattened cattle (São Paulo) fell sharply by 8.3% to BRL 271.40 per arroba (15 kg) on ​​28 April.

The monthly average, which closed at BRL 285.81 per arroba, was 1.4% higher than March but 13.33% lower than April22 in real terms (values ​​deflated by IGP-DI) .

Taking into account new export transactions, the price of exported beef decreased in April, averaging $4,786.88 per tonne, which is 0.52% lower than since March 23, 23% lower than since April 22 and the lowest since April 21 ($4,765.76/t), according to Secex.

On average, for the first four months of 2023, the average price closed at $4,824.3/t, which is 15.65% lower than in the same period last year. With both the volume of exports and the price paid for the product declining, the revenue generated between January and April was US$2.51 billion, down 30% from the same period last year. According to Secex, revenue for April 23 was $528.18 million, down 11.79% from March and 46% from April 22.