ABIEC – the trade association that represents Brazil’s meat exporters – has released its 2026 Beef Report.
It is primarily a review of the beef industry’s performance over the previous year and a look ahead on how it expects the industry to develop over the coming decade.
It has been reported before that 2025 was indeed a record year for Brazilian beef.
It produced 12.35m tonnes of beef from 47.79m head of cattle processed and exported 3.5m tonnes of beef to 177 countries. This generated revenue of $18bn (€15.8bn) and, for the first time, Brazil was the world’s largest beef producing country, as well as the leading exporter.
The report highlights that since 1990, beef output has increased threefold (146.6%) from a 40% growth in the cattle herd.
Productivity
This was achieved by improvements in productivity with greater slaughter weights and improved fertility. Production has become increasingly intensified with feedlots and intensive pasture-based finishing systems accounting for 23% of all cattle slaughtered.
The Brazilian cattle herd is now estimated at 195.5m head and Brazil produces just over 16% of the world’s total beef production.
Over the past 30 years, Brazil has achieved its increase in beef production with less land, as pasture area has been reduced by 18%. Almost two-thirds (64%) of the national territory remains covered by natural vegetation, while 19% is in pasture.
There was a huge increase in Brazil’s beef exports in 2025 compared with 2024, up by 20.6% in volume and a huge 40% in value.
More than one third of Brazilian beef production is exported, leaving just over 63% consumed in the home market, with per-capita consumption estimated at 37kg per person.
Outlook
The development of Brazil’s beef industry over recent decades has been spectacular and growth is forecast to continue.
The report suggests that production could reach 15.18m tonnes by 2035, a 23% increase on the 12.35m tonnes produced last year, with the cattle herd rising to just over 205m head, a 9.5m increase on 2025.
Exports are predicted to increase by 56.5% over the same period to 7.1m tonnes.
Brazil is already the global superpower when it comes to beef production and trade.
Over the next decade, the projections from its meat industry report is that it will strengthen its position further.
To put this in context, it is projected that the increase in its cattle herd over the next 10 years will be 9.5m – this is 2.5m cattle more than the entire Irish cattle population.
Brazil also (correctly) highlights the huge strides it has made in reducing the carbon emissions from its beef production over recent decades.
However, as Irish farmers know from the climate debate in Ireland, reduction in emissions per kilo doesn’t suffice here or in the EU in general, it is an absolute reduction that is demanded and enshrined in Irish legislation.
Brazil has the capacity to expand production to an extent unimaginable in Ireland and by doing so it renders any efforts made in Ireland to reduce carbon emissions from reducing beef production meaningless.
UK likely to remain open for Brazilian beef