By Brazil Stock Guide – South America is set to strengthen its leadership in global beef exports over the next two years, supported by scale and comparative advantages, according to Minerva Foods SA (BEEF3.SA) Chief Executive Officer Fernando Queiroz. He spoke during the company’s Minerva Day event held in São Paulo on Tuesday.
As reported by Broadcast, Queiroz said the company’s strategic decision has been to anchor operations in the region that concentrates the most favorable conditions. “The choice of Minerva was to be in the part of the planet that gathers the greatest comparative advantages,” he said.
Production Flexibility and Export Records
Queiroz underscored that South American cattle farming stands apart from other producing regions because of its flexibility. “We studied other products, other proteins, but we saw that beef is the only one that can be produced in two ways – on pasture or grain. And grain-fed production in the Northern Hemisphere is increasingly unfeasible,” he said.
He also pointed to South America’s strong performance across varied market scenarios. “It is no coincidence that we have been breaking export records, with tariffs, without tariffs, with market openings, with new markets. This window of opportunity will be even more relevant in 2026 and 2027,” Queiroz said.
Global Challenges Favor the Region
The executive highlighted that global conditions are boosting South America’s role. “The United States has not yet started heifer retention, but it already shows signs. Europe is weakened in its production, and China is also facing herd reduction,” he said.
Queiroz contrasted production scales among continents. “Oceania, especially Australia, has 25 million to 26 million head of cattle, while in South America we are talking about 350 to 360 million. This difference explains why we are much more competitive,” he said.