{"id":50025355,"date":"2019-03-27T21:14:34","date_gmt":"2019-03-27T21:14:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage.dialogochino.net\/?p=25355"},"modified":"2023-03-12T21:47:54","modified_gmt":"2023-03-12T21:47:54","slug":"25355-chinese-demand-for-brazilian-beef-raises-deforestation-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/forests\/25355-chinese-demand-for-brazilian-beef-raises-deforestation-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinese demand for Brazilian beef raises deforestation risk"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last year the Brazilian beef industry broke its own records. It exported 1.6 million tonnes<\/a>, up 11% compared to the previous year, according to the Brazilian Association of Beef Exporting Industries (Abiec).<\/p>\n

But while the industry celebrated, the numbers rang alarm bells for environmentalists.<\/p>\n

\u201cLivestock is the major driver of Brazilian deforestation,\u201d said forest engineer Paulo Barreto, of the Amazon Institute of People and the Environment (IMAZON). Barreto stressed that the boom in exports puts extra pressure on forests since domestic production almost matches consumption. \u201cIf it were only for the domestic market, this would not happen.”<\/p>\n

According to IMAZON, 40% of new cattle herds are in the Amazon. Approximately 80% of the recently deforested<\/a> will be used for livestock, with 20% of new beef going abroad, along with 80% of leather.<\/p>\n

Much of this growth goes to China, the top buyer of Brazilian beef. It purchases almost a quarter of all exports and numbers are rising fast. Last year, China purchased 50% more Brazilian beef than in 2017 \u2014the steepest increase in volume of any importer.<\/p>\n

After eight years of decline, deforestation in the Amazon region began to grow again in 2012, when beef exports grew 7.8% compared to the previous year, according to Abiec.<\/p>\n

Decoupling deforestation and growth<\/h2>\n

Brazilian agribusiness fiercely fights environmental protection agencies\u2019 efforts to curb deforestation, claiming that the industry is vital for economic growth.<\/p>\n

Last year, its caucus in Congress<\/a> supported the successful presidential candidacy of Jair Bolsonaro, who called the agencies \u201cfine factories\u201d. Bolsonaro\u2019s new agriculture minister pledged to create a “more favourable<\/a>” environment for agribusiness.<\/p>\n

However, deforestation in the Amazon is not a necessary evil for economic development. A recent study<\/a> by the University of S\u00e3o Paulo’s Institute of Energy and Environment showed that agricultural production in the rainforest can be highly inefficient in terms of land use.<\/p>\n

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14.5%<\/p>\n

\n
\nthe value of Brazilian agricultural products that come from the Amazon
\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

The 750,000-square-kilometre area of the Amazon that has been deforested for cattle ranching \u2013 a land mass twice the size of Germany \u2013 contributes only 14.5% of the total value of Brazilian agricultural products. S\u00e3o Paulo state produces almost the same value with a quarter of the farmland.<\/p>\n

The Amazonian areas were most often deforested illegally, with around 65% used for low-productivity pasture, which counts less than one head of cattle per hectare, according to the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM).<\/p>\n

Mapping supply chains<\/h2>\n

The process of tracing cattle reared on deforested land to international markets is inhibited by logistical and other issues. There is still no evidence that beef coming from pastures in deforested parts of the Amazon goes to China, for example.<\/p>\n

Given the transport costs, meat produced in the south of Brazil is more competitive for the Chinese market since it is closer to major ports with links to Asia, such as Santos in S\u00e3o Paulo State.<\/p>\n