Data released by the Brazil government’s bureau of statistics, the Brazilian Institute of Geography (IBGE), shows its herd’s size grew for the first time in three years.
The country’s herd totaled 214.7 million head in 2019, a 0.4 percent rise from 2018, driven by retention of female cows for breeding and a 5.1 percent growth of the herd in Mato Grosso state, IBGE said.
“In 2019, we observed a drop in the participation of female cows in slaughtering, suggesting a transition from the low cattle cycle to the high cycle, which is when the producer starts to retain females due to good market prices,” said IBGE’s livestock research supervisor Mariana Oliveira.
Record exports to China marked 2019, Oliveira stated. The year 2021 is expected to increase for the third year as demand in China increases, according to the USDA.
