Dynamics of beef cattle exports from Brazil and Uruguay: a comparative analysis

Abstract

Brazil is one of the major exporters of beef in the world, together with Uruguay, neighbor country with great potential in the production of the beef sector and therefore one of the major competitors with Brazil. Because of the importance of the beef sector in both countries, this paper aims to analyze the evolution of beef exports from Brazil and Uruguay over the period 2001-2013, checking the volume and price of exports in that period. The statistical analysis followed the Classical Multiplicative Time Series Method. An upward trend of total exports of beef to both Brazil to Uruguay as was evidenced. Likewise, prices had increased; the price of beef exported by Uruguay showed an annual growth of 11.28%, higher than Brazil with a growth of 9.96% year. Both countries had seasonal exports, with an expansion in the production period and volume shrinkage during the period between produce. In a long-term analysis, it was found that the export cycles are not well determined, making it impossible to draw future patterns.