Brazilian beef exports and deforestation

Brazil is the world’s second-largest beef producer and the largest beef exporter. In 2023, it produced 12.9 million tonnes (Mt) of beef and accounted for about 20% of global exports. Brazil’s beef sector is a major contributor to the country’s economy, responsible for 8.4% of gross domestic product and about 8.9 million jobs in 2024. Cattle are raised across all regions of Brazil, but slaughterhouse capacity and production are concentrated in the central-west and north of the country.

Deforestation and beef production

Trase’s analysis shows that annual deforestation and conversion of native vegetation linked to pasture expansion rose from 5.5 million hectares (Mha) in 2020 to 7.5 Mha in 2023, an increase of over 36% in four years. Beef production rose 15% in the same period, roughly half the rate of increase in deforestation and conversion. Together, this implies higher deforestation intensity (hectares of deforestation per 1,000 tonnes of production) in 2023 than in 2020, especially in the Amazon. For example, in 2020, 893 ha of native vegetation were converted for every 1,000 tonnes of cattle produced. This figure increased to 1,300 ha in 2023, a 50% increase in deforestation intensity in less than 10 years.

A large proportion of pasture-driven deforestation and conversion took place in the Amazon. Between 2018–20 and 2021–23, average annual clearing in the biome rose by 54% (300,000 ha). Clearing in the Pantanal also increased, albeit from a lower base, while the Cerrado declined slightly. Since 2017, Brazil’s deforestation for cattle ranching has shifted markedly towards the Amazon (62% of the national share in 2023 versus 40% in 2017). Recent hotspots of deforestation cluster along the BR-163 and Trans-Amazonian highways (southwest Pará, northern Mato Grosso, Rondônia).

Most of the deforestation tends to be concentrated in a relatively small number of municipalities. Only 61 municipalities in Brazil accounted for 50% of deforestation for cattle pasture in 2023. Together these municipalities are responsible for only 11% of the cattle production in that year. Only four municipalities, namely Altamira (Pará), Porto Velho (Rondônia), São Félix do Xingu (Pará) and Lábrea (Amazonas), accounted for 12% of Brazil’s pasture deforestation and conversion in 2023. This suggests that focusing action on hotspots could significantly reduce deforestation and conversion while having relatively little impact on cattle production.

The Trase data used in this analysis covers the period 2020–2023. Satellite monitoring data for 2024 from Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais) PRODES shows that deforestation fell by 31% in the Amazon and 26% in the Cerrado. The reduction is attributed to measures to control forest loss by the federal government since 2023, in contrast to the previous administration's policy of weakening forest protection. These results will be captured in future updates of Trase data.

Markets and traders

Although about 70% of Brazilian beef is consumed domestically, the share for exports has grown over the past decade. China is the leading export market for Brazilian beef, accounting for 59% in 2023, followed by the United States (8%) and the European Union (5%). China is also the export market with the highest exposure to deforestation, increasing from 124,000 ha in 2015 to 564,000 ha in 2023.

US imports of Brazilian beef have increased steadily since 2019 due to increasing demand. Volumes rose from 74,500 (2015) to 264,000 tonnes (2023) and the associated deforestation exposure increased from 1,700 ha to 52,900 ha.

The EU’s share of beef exports from Brazil has fallen over recent years to 3% in 2023. Its average deforestation exposure in 2015–2023 was about 28,000 ha per year and a mean global share of 5%. In absolute terms, EU deforestation exposure was 25,000 ha in 2015 and 27,000 ha in 2023.

The three largest traders, JBS, Marfrig and Minerva increased exports by around 43% in 2015–2023, while their combined deforestation exposure rose 44%. Together they account for 67% of exports in 2023 and 54% of deforestation and conversion exposure. According to their own reports, exports account for 24%, 39% and 57% of the beef sourced by JBS, Marfrig and Minerva, respectively. The remaining volume was consumed domestically. The results show that these three beef traders have considerable leverage over reducing deforestation associated with beef exports.

JBS’s share of total deforestation exposure fell from more than 37% in 2015 to 29% in 2023. Minerva’s share remained broadly stable over the period, while Marfrig’s increased from 10% to 12%. Although their collective share of exposure declined, the absolute exposure attributed to these traders still grew, reflecting the overall expansion of exports, especially to China.

Company commitments to zero deforestation and conversion (ZDCs)

ZDCs in the cattle sector comprise the Public Livestock Commitment agreed by the largest slaughterhouses operating in the Amazon, also known as the G4 agreement, and the Term of Adjustment of Conduct (TAC) for beef that covers other slaughterhouses in the Amazon. Under both agreements, slaughterhouses cannot purchase cattle from farms with deforestation in the Amazon after 2009. However, while the G4 agreement commits companies to preventing any deforestation, TAC only requires the prevention of illegal deforestation. There are also a growing number of individual corporate commitments covering the Cerrado and other Amazon states where TACs are not available, such as Maranhão and Tocantins.

From 2015 onward, the coverage of ZDCs expanded substantially. In 2015, most beef (70%; 1.42 Mt) was not produced and exported under any commitment, while TAC covered 25% (0.51 Mt) and G4 4% (0.09 Mt) of beef volumes. By 2023, the opposite was true: about 70% of beef was covered by ZDCs with company commitments increasing to 40% (1.26 Mt) and TAC to 29% (0.91 Mt).

Greenhouse gas emissions

Gross emissions of greenhouse gas linked to exports of Brazilian beef have grown over the last decade from 168 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2015 to 380 Mt CO₂-eq in 2023 – an increase of about 46%.

Most emissions come from deforestation and conversion in the Amazon. In 2023, it accounted for 73% of the pasture-related deforestation in Brazil (138 Mt CO₂-eq), while the Cerrado contributed 22% (41 Mt CO₂-eq) and the Pantanal 3.6% (6.7 Mt CO₂e). Emissions from the Cerrado remained broadly stable over 2015–2023, while emissions from the Pantanal roughly doubled from a small base in 2015 (2.8 Mt CO₂-eq).

The three largest beef traders, JBS, Marfrig and Minerva, have the largest emissions exposure. Together they account for 52% of emissions in 2023 (JBS 28%, Minerva 13%, Marfrig 11%). The trends vary over time: JBS’s emissions are about 10% lower over 2015–2023, Minerva is down 13%, while Marfrig is stable at 10% over the years. Although the combined share of the big three remains substantial, these shifts suggest part of the emissions growth since 2015 has been accounted for by other exporters. Most new contributors are in the state of Pará, where traders such as Mercurio Alimentos and Frigol together accounted for 12% of the exported attributed deforestation in 2023, compared with only 6% in 2015.

The authors thank the researchers and data scientists who have contributed to this analysis: Harry Biddle, Florian Gollnow, Nicolás Martín, Carina Mueller and Jailson Soares.

Explore and download the Brazilian beef data at trase.earth

To reference this article, please use the citation: Pereira, O., & Bernasconi, P. (2025). Brazilian beef exports and deforestation. Trase. https://doi.org/10.48650/6VK3-2S18

A detailed explanation of Trase’s methodology is available at: Trase. (2023). SEI-PCS Brazil beef v2.2 supply chain map: Data sources and methods. Trase. https://doi.org/10.48650/CP2S-SP59