Livestock
Slaughter of cattle grows 4.4% in the first quarter of the year
June 14, 2018 09h00 AM | Last Updated: June 19, 2018 03h43 PM
In Brazil, 7.72 million cattle were slaughtered in the first quarter of 2018, an increase of 4.4% compared with the same period last year. The result represents a recovery with a return to the level of 2015, when 7.74 million animals were slaughtered. The information is part of the quarterly surveys of livestock, released today by the IBGE.
According to the manager of Livestock of the Institute, Angela Lordão, the growth was influenced by increasing beef exports and the targeting of cows for breeding for slaughter. "The fall in beef prices and calves led producers to discard their parentage as a way to compensate for the low prices in the market," explained her.
Slaughter of hogs and pigs also grows
Still in the first quarter of 2018, 10.72 million hogs and pigs were slaughtered, an increase of 2.3% over the first quarter of 2017. As a result, the sector achieved the best result for first quarters since 1997.
According to Angela, although swine farming has suffered the impact of the embargo promoted by Russia, which almost zeroed its imports of Brazilian pork meat, the greater domestic demand for this product helped to offset the losses.
