Brazil consumes less meat and industry predicts unprecedented crisis

The refrigerator sector foresees the beginning of an "unprecedented crisis". One of the factors that justify the forecast fall in beef consumption, according to the Brazilian Association of Refrigerators (Abrafrigo). The Brazilian consumption hovered around 40 pounds per capita a year, is now estimated at 32 kilos per inhabitant per year.
The Abrafrigo warned the market on the crisis and said that entrepreneurs are worried about the future because there''s no sign of that in the short term the situation will modify. "The situation is very close to closing units and unemployment, something I didn''t imagine it would happen so soon," says the ceo of Abrafrigo, Pericles Salazar. According to him, the refrigerator sector employs more than a million workers in Brazil.
Exports
According to Abrafrigo, the scenario is compounded by difficulties in foreign markets, such as reducing beef exports to Russia and Venezuela and low prices.
The Brazil exports about of 20% of the national production of beef expects a growth of at least 4.1% of exports (more 76100 tonnes), for a total of 1.915 million tons. Still, according to Abrafrigo, exports don''t solve the crisis because the Brazilian product is not properly valued. The Authority said in a statement that the low prices paid on the international market have caused the value of the devaluation of the Brazilian Real to the dollar.
"Moreover, exports, which made up for the difficulty of generating financial results with the internal market, lost income with the exchange rate devaluation and high of arroba. The dollar below 3.50 R$ as is currently not going to help the industry, "said Pericles Salazar.