In Year of Bad News, Brazilian Meat Giants Catch a Break

JBS, Marfrig and Minerva stand to gain record beef margins
That offset impact of safety concerns, bans on Brazilian meat

1490083269_brazil meat large lede — Photographer: Victor Moriyama/Bloomberg

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By Gerson Freitas Jr. and Tatiana Freitas

July 24, 2017 at 4:01 AM UTC

Updated on

July 24, 2017 at 10:16 PM UTC

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A safety scare. Political scandal. Export bans. This year’s headlines could scarcely be worse for Brazilian meat producers.

Yet right now they’re enjoying stellar market conditions for beef. Prices that meatpackers like JBS SA, Marfrig Global Foods SA and Minerva SA pay for cattle had the biggest decline in two decades this year. Meanwhile, wholesale prices have been mostly flat, fetching a premium of about 38 percent on cattle, the most since at least 2008, according to data from agricultural consulting firm Scot Consultoria.