Brazil’s beef exports and revenue reached records in 2025, Abiec says
Brazil exported 3.5 million tonnes of beef worth nearly $18 billion in 2025, according to Abiec’s Beef Report 2026. Production reached 12.35 million tonnes carcass-weight equivalent, making the country the world’s largest beef producer as well as its leading exporter.
Exports approach $18 billion
Brazil set records for beef production, exports and revenue in 2025, consolidating its position at the center of the global cattle market. According to the Beef Report 2026, released by the Brazilian Beef Exporters Association, Abiec, the country shipped 3.5 million tonnes of beef and generated revenue of nearly $18 billion during the year.
Correio Braziliense reported that Brazilian beef was sold to 177 destinations, giving exporters a broad and increasingly diversified customer base. That reach reduces dependence on any single buyer, while making Brazilian supply relevant to importers across multiple regions. Abiec’s figures also confirm that Brazil remained the world’s largest beef exporter in 2025.
Brazil takes the lead in global production
Brazil also became the world’s largest beef producer in 2025, with output of 12.35 million tonnes carcass-weight equivalent. Diário do Comércio said the indicators presented at the report’s launch in Brasília established Brazil as both the largest producer and exporter globally. The production increase came as herds were contracting in important competing countries, according to Correio Braziliense.
Abiec attributes Brazil’s expansion to higher productivity rather than the addition of new livestock land. Over the past 30 years, cattle-sector productivity increased by 183%, while pasture area declined by 18% to approximately 160 million hectares. Around 27.9 million hectares previously used as pasture were transferred to agriculture and other activities over the same period. Pastures now occupy about 19% of Brazil’s territory, while native vegetation covers 64%.
Intensive systems reshape cattle supply
More intensive finishing systems are playing a larger role in the industry’s output. Feedlots and Intensive Pasture Finishing, known in Brazil as TIP, accounted for 23% of formally slaughtered cattle in 2025. Approximately 19 million animals received diets with high levels of concentrate during the year, indicating greater use of technology and feed inputs in the production cycle.
Females represented a record 46.8% of formal slaughter in 2025. Abiec linked the result to more technical culling and productivity gains within cattle herds. For producers and processors, the high female slaughter rate is an important supply indicator because it affects both current meat availability and the future capacity of the breeding herd.
Industry value rises as emissions targets tighten
The Brazilian beef chain generated more than R$1.15 trillion in economic activity in 2025, equivalent to about 9% of the country’s gross domestic product, according to the Beef Report. The scale of the industry means changes in cattle availability, finishing practices and access to overseas markets have consequences beyond processors and ranchers, extending to feed suppliers, logistics companies and traders.
A decarbonization study included in the report projects a reduction of at least 79.9% in greenhouse-gas emissions intensity per kilogram of beef produced by 2050. The reduction could reach 92.6% if targets including zero deforestation, wider adoption of technologies under the ABC+ Plan, lower slaughter ages and methane-mitigation additives are achieved. These are projections rather than recorded reductions, and their delivery will depend on changes across farms and processing supply chains.
