Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE), part of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, has announced the clearance of 8,531 sq km of frest in the year to the end of July 2021.

This is an increase of almost 8% on the previous year and represents an area 1,000km² bigger than Co Cork.

The Cerrado is an area of almost 2 million sq km of tropical savannah vegetation that includes small trees with exceptionally deep roots leading to the description of upside-down forest.

It is located next to the Amazon rainforest, whose clearance is also monitored by the INPE. As with the rainforest, levels of clearance in the Cerrado have increased in recent years, mostly for agricultural purposes.

Beef exports to China recommenced in the middle of December following a three-month suspension because of the discovery of an atypical BSE case

The ongoing rainforest and Cerrado clearance has caused some market pushback for Brazilian beef in the EU, but has not been an issue in either China or the US.

Beef exports to China recommenced in the middle of December following a three-month suspension because of the discovery of an atypical BSE case.

The timing coincided with reduced cattle numbers, and while there was initial market weakness, it quickly recovered, even before the suspension on exports to China was lifted.

US

During the break in supplying China, the US became the number one export destination for Brazilian beef exports, taking 17,292t in November and for all of 2021, USDA import data shows beef imports from Brazil jumped from 17, 672t in 2020 to 46,076t in 2021, a 160% increase.