Brazilian Beef Drives 25% of Global Commodity-Linked Deforestation
Brazilian beef production accounts for a quarter of global commodity-linked deforestation, according to data from supply-chain research initiative Trase. The country produced 9.7 million tonnes of beef from the slaughter of 39 million cattle in 2021, exporting 2.4 million tonnes to generate roughly $8 billion in revenue.
Total deforestation and conversion of native vegetation across Brazil shifted from 1.6 million hectares in 2018 to 1.84 million hectares in 2019 and 1.83 million hectares in 2020, based on figures compiled by Trase. Researchers note that the expansion of pasture for cattle farming and land speculation remains the largest direct driver of this habitat loss.
Deforestation Trends Across the Amazon and Cerrado
Trase data shows that cattle-related deforestation and land conversion rose from 590,000 hectares in 2016 to 948,700 hectares in 2020, representing a 60 percent increase. During that same period, the total area of pasture actually decreased slightly from 164 Mha to 162.5 Mha, while total beef production dropped from 10.2 million tonnes to 9.8 million tonnes.
That contradictory trend is driven largely by the use of unproductive cattle ranching for land speculation. Pasture expanded most significantly in the Cerrado savanna, where it accounted for 255,385 hectares of cattle deforestation in 2016 and 332,706 hectares in 2020. In the Amazon, cattle deforestation measured 257,422 hectares in 2016 and 291,955 hectares in 2020.
Within the Amazon, the Pará municipalities of Moju, São Félix do Xingu, and Altamira led cattle deforestation in 2020 with cleared areas of 22,000 hectares, 15,800 hectares, and 15,400 hectares respectively. In the Cerrado, Goiás state municipality Nova Crixás recorded the fourth-largest total at 14,100 hectares, followed by Pium in Tocantins at 12,500 hectares.
Domestic Demand Versus Export Markets
While international trade frequently draws scrutiny, trade-adjusted modeling covering the period from 2005 to 2023 attributes roughly 85 percent of the deforestation embodied in Brazilian agricultural production to domestic consumption, according to an analysis published in Nature Food using the Deforestation Driver and Carbon Emission model developed by Chandrakant Singh and Martin Persson at Chalmers University of Technology. Export markets account for the remaining 15 percent, with China and the United States serving as the largest foreign buyers.
Author Hannah Ritchie noted that beef production accounted for 41 percent of global deforestation between 2001 and 2023, with nearly two-thirds of that forest loss occurring inside Brazil. Brazilian per capita beef consumption has doubled over the past 50 years and now runs at approximately three times the European average.
Supply Chain Exposure and Regulatory Pressures
Trase analysis identifies major beef traders JBS, Minerva, and Marfrig as the most exposed to deforestation and conversion from exports of Brazilian beef between 2016 and 2020. JBS recorded a deforestation exposure of 231,808 hectares in 2020, up from 206,428 hectares in 2016.
Regulatory compliance measures are set to tighten significantly. Beginning December 30, 2024, the European Union deforestation regulation requires companies trading cattle-derived products such as leather, beef, and offal to demonstrate that goods were not produced on recently deforested land. Brazil is expected to be classified as high risk under the system.
Trase data indicates that in 2020, just 388 out of 3,386 cattle-producing municipalities accounted for 95 percent of Brazil’s cattle deforestation over the four-year study window. Those same municipalities represented 42 percent of Brazil’s cattle production and 52 percent of exports, suggesting targeted traceability requirements could focus compliance efforts on high-risk regions.