BRAZIL: Cattle Slaughtered (number of heads)
Brazil is one of the world's leading producers and exporters of beef.
Cattle slaughter in Brazil
is a key indicator for assessing trends in
beef supply and developments in the international market.
This page provides timely monthly data on cattle slaughter, expressed as number of heads, based on official statistics from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE – Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística), with a breakdown by animal category.
| Category | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Oxen | Adult male cattle, aged 2 years or older. Includes non-castrated males (bulls). | ||
| Cows | Adult female cattle, aged 2 years or older, regardless of whether they have calved or not. | ||
| Young Males | Young male cattle, under 2 years of age. Includes calves and young bulls (early-maturing or not). | ||
| Young females | Young female cattle, under 2 years of age. Includes female calves and heifers (early-maturing or not). | ||
| Source: IBGE | |||
| BRAZIL: Cattle Slaughtered (number of heads) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Categories of Cattle | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Jan-Mar 2025 | Jan-Mar 2026 (p) | ± from 2025 |
| Oxen | 17.090.051 | 17.372.501 | 18.283.845 | 21.092.545 | 20.978.999 | 4.634.958 | 4.722.827 | +1.90%= |
| Cows | 6.744.766 | 8.061.993 | 10.025.281 | 11.705.731 | 13.562.772 | 3.327.970 | 3.444.354 | +3.50%= |
| Male heifers | 1.273.188 | 1.384.660 | 1.616.040 | 1.580.957 | 1.848.332 | 404.075 | 429.791 | +6.36%= |
| Female heifers | 2.596.848 | 3.128.430 | 4.176.640 | 5.309.951 | 6.562.209 | 1.595.914 | 1.692.229 | +6.04%= |
| Total Cattle slaughtered | 27.704.853 | 29.947.584 | 34.101.806 | 39.689.184 | 42.952.312 | 9.962.917 | 10.289.201 | |
| Variazione % su anno precedente | - | +8,10% | +13,87% | +16,38% | +8,22% | - | +3,27% | |
|
Source: Processed by CLAL on IBGE data (p): Data for the current year should be considered preliminary until the publication of the results for the first quarter of the following year. The published data are collected from establishments subject to federal, state, or municipal sanitary inspection. Information is collected on a quarterly basis. Since 2012, the survey has introduced conceptual changes that have resulted in the consolidation of some animal categories. |
||||||||
| Total cattle slaughtered number of heads | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Month of slaughter |
2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 (p) |
± % su mese prec. |
± % su 2025 |
|
| January | 2.547.725 | 3.196.748 | 3.382.867 | 3.434.756 | -6.95% | +1.53% | |
| February | 2.385.237 | 3.148.157 | 3.255.855 | 3.235.515 | -5.80% | -0.62% | |
| March | 2.533.559 | 3.088.615 | 3.324.195 | 3.618.930 | +11.85% | +8.87% | |
| April | 2.541.766 | 3.381.652 | 3.415.789 | - | |||
| May | 3.033.393 | 3.422.274 | 3.633.357 | - | |||
| June | 2.903.004 | 3.263.786 | 3.536.489 | - | |||
| July | 2.929.072 | 3.628.295 | 3.867.987 | - | |||
| August | 3.181.658 | 3.554.228 | 3.688.733 | - | |||
| September | 2.887.190 | 3.318.063 | 3.790.767 | - | |||
| October | 3.067.025 | 3.360.094 | 3.887.638 | - | |||
| November | 3.048.056 | 3.107.459 | 3.477.320 | - | |||
| December | 3.044.121 | 3.219.813 | 3.691.315 | - | |||
| Jan-Mar | 7.466.521 | 9.433.520 | 9.962.917 | 10.289.201 | |||
| Var % ¹ | +6.49% | +26.34% | +5.61% | +3.27% | |||
| Tot. Year | 34.101.806 | 39.689.184 | 42.952.312 | ||||
| Var % ¹ | +13.87% | +16.38% | +8.22% | ||||
|
Source: Processed by CLAL on IBGE data (p): Data for the current year should be considered preliminary until the publication of the results for the first quarter of the following year. 1) change from the same period of previous year The published data are collected from establishments subject to federal, state, or municipal sanitary inspection. |
|||||||
Rolling year: for each month, the displayed slaughter figures include the slaughterings recorded in that month plus those of the previous 11 months. This approach considers a rolling 12-month window, allowing the underlying trend to be identified while removing the effect of seasonality.
| Oxen slaughtered number of heads | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Month of slaughter |
2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 (p) |
± % su mese prec. |
± % su 2025 |
|
| January | 1.377.128 | 1.628.704 | 1.630.621 | 1.670.855 | -12.67% | +2.47% | |
| February | 1.160.926 | 1.529.456 | 1.509.060 | 1.429.436 | -14.45% | -5.28% | |
| March | 1.173.958 | 1.538.790 | 1.495.277 | 1.622.536 | +13.51% | +8.51% | |
| April | 1.310.240 | 1.691.067 | 1.499.173 | - | |||
| May | 1.556.860 | 1.771.353 | 1.696.017 | - | |||
| June | 1.506.032 | 1.710.411 | 1.649.368 | - | |||
| July | 1.569.671 | 1.939.747 | 1.873.899 | - | |||
| August | 1.803.389 | 1.989.158 | 1.817.357 | - | |||
| September | 1.676.732 | 1.893.446 | 1.932.338 | - | |||
| October | 1.759.525 | 1.948.013 | 2.078.755 | - | |||
| November | 1.744.084 | 1.748.992 | 1.883.804 | - | |||
| December | 1.645.300 | 1.703.408 | 1.913.330 | - | |||
| Jan-Mar | 3.712.012 | 4.696.950 | 4.634.958 | 4.722.827 | |||
| Var % ¹ | -5.77% | +26.53% | -1.32% | +1.90% | |||
| Tot. Year | 18.283.845 | 21.092.545 | 20.978.999 | ||||
| Var % ¹ | +5.25% | +15.36% | -0.54% | ||||
|
Source: Processed by CLAL on IBGE data (p): Data for the current year should be considered preliminary until the publication of the results for the first quarter of the following year. 1) change from the same period of previous year The published data are collected from establishments subject to federal, state, or municipal sanitary inspection. |
|||||||
Rolling year: for each month, the displayed slaughter figures include the slaughterings recorded in that month plus those of the previous 11 months. This approach considers a rolling 12-month window, allowing the underlying trend to be identified while removing the effect of seasonality.
| Cows slaughtered (number of heads) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Month of slaughter |
2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 (p) |
± % su mese prec. |
± % su 2025 |
|
| January | 747.985 | 1.001.171 | 1.099.193 | 1.092.848 | +0.47% | -0.58% | |
| February | 806.772 | 1.024.371 | 1.094.383 | 1.132.511 | +3.63% | +3.48% | |
| March | 906.352 | 995.000 | 1.134.394 | 1.218.995 | +7.64% | +7.46% | |
| April | 769.270 | 1.072.607 | 1.197.181 | - | |||
| May | 920.296 | 1.039.421 | 1.211.986 | - | |||
| June | 892.002 | 976.131 | 1.196.382 | - | |||
| July | 854.304 | 1.065.802 | 1.221.183 | - | |||
| August | 845.852 | 977.523 | 1.147.249 | - | |||
| September | 744.253 | 886.607 | 1.131.383 | - | |||
| October | 814.391 | 877.092 | 1.079.692 | - | |||
| November | 824.319 | 835.952 | 961.995 | - | |||
| December | 899.485 | 954.054 | 1.087.751 | - | |||
| Jan-Mar | 2.461.109 | 3.020.542 | 3.327.970 | 3.444.354 | |||
| Var % ¹ | +22.83% | +22.73% | +10.18% | +3.50% | |||
| Tot. Year | 10.025.281 | 11.705.731 | 13.562.772 | ||||
| Var % ¹ | +24.35% | +16.76% | +15.86% | ||||
|
Source: Processed by CLAL on IBGE data (p): Data for the current year should be considered preliminary until the publication of the results for the first quarter of the following year. 1) change from the same period of previous year The published data are collected from establishments subject to federal, state, or municipal sanitary inspection. |
|||||||
Rolling year: for each month, the displayed slaughter figures include the slaughterings recorded in that month plus those of the previous 11 months. This approach considers a rolling 12-month window, allowing the underlying trend to be identified while removing the effect of seasonality.
| Male heifers slaughtered number of heads | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Month of slaughter |
2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 (p) |
± % su mese prec. |
± % su 2025 |
|
| January | 158.124 | 141.998 | 140.456 | 153.242 | -20.89% | +9.10% | |
| February | 129.404 | 123.133 | 128.937 | 132.705 | -13.40% | +2.92% | |
| March | 114.839 | 112.055 | 134.682 | 143.844 | +8.39% | +6.80% | |
| April | 116.468 | 119.765 | 124.899 | - | |||
| May | 136.756 | 121.415 | 131.996 | - | |||
| June | 120.639 | 114.417 | 125.265 | - | |||
| July | 122.219 | 129.874 | 165.079 | - | |||
| August | 151.008 | 143.889 | 160.826 | - | |||
| September | 145.160 | 146.613 | 177.197 | - | |||
| October | 153.033 | 148.557 | 193.168 | - | |||
| November | 133.991 | 139.317 | 172.114 | - | |||
| December | 134.399 | 139.924 | 193.713 | - | |||
| Jan-Mar | 402.367 | 377.186 | 404.075 | 429.791 | |||
| Var % ¹ | +32.63% | -6.26% | +7.13% | +6.36% | |||
| Tot. Year | 1.616.040 | 1.580.957 | 1.848.332 | ||||
| Var % ¹ | +16.71% | -2.17% | +16.91% | ||||
|
Source: Processed by CLAL on IBGE data (p): Data for the current year should be considered preliminary until the publication of the results for the first quarter of the following year. 1) change from the same period of previous year The published data are collected from establishments subject to federal, state, or municipal sanitary inspection. |
|||||||
Rolling year: for each month, the displayed slaughter figures include the slaughterings recorded in that month plus those of the previous 11 months. This approach considers a rolling 12-month window, allowing the underlying trend to be identified while removing the effect of seasonality.
| Female heifers slaughtered (number of heads) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Month of slaughter |
2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 (p) |
± % su mese prec. |
± % su 2025 |
|
| January | 264.488 | 424.875 | 512.597 | 517.811 | +4.29% | +1.02% | |
| February | 288.135 | 471.197 | 523.475 | 540.863 | +4.45% | +3.32% | |
| March | 338.410 | 442.770 | 559.842 | 633.555 | +17.14% | +13.17% | |
| April | 345.788 | 498.213 | 594.536 | - | |||
| May | 419.481 | 490.085 | 593.358 | - | |||
| June | 384.331 | 462.827 | 565.474 | - | |||
| July | 382.878 | 492.872 | 607.826 | - | |||
| August | 381.409 | 443.658 | 563.301 | - | |||
| September | 321.045 | 391.397 | 549.849 | - | |||
| October | 340.076 | 386.432 | 536.023 | - | |||
| November | 345.662 | 383.198 | 459.407 | - | |||
| December | 364.937 | 422.427 | 496.521 | - | |||
| Jan-Mar | 891.033 | 1.338.842 | 1.595.914 | 1.692.229 | |||
| Var % ¹ | +16.49% | +50.26% | +19.20% | +6.04% | |||
| Tot. Year | 4.176.640 | 5.309.951 | 6.562.209 | ||||
| Var % ¹ | +33.51% | +27.13% | +23.58% | ||||
|
Source: Processed by CLAL on IBGE data (p): Data for the current year should be considered preliminary until the publication of the results for the first quarter of the following year. 1) change from the same period of previous year The published data are collected from establishments subject to federal, state, or municipal sanitary inspection. |
|||||||
Rolling year: for each month, the displayed slaughter figures include the slaughterings recorded in that month plus those of the previous 11 months. This approach considers a rolling 12-month window, allowing the underlying trend to be identified while removing the effect of seasonality.
