30 March 2009

2 minute read

During the period of economic market turmoil, which reached its peak late last year, slaughterhouse Minerva intensified its operations in the African and Middle Eastern markets, where the Arab countries are located.

The information was taken from the company's 2008 report. “In this turbulent period, Minerva adopted the strategy of reducing its exposure to Russia by operating strongly in North Africa and the Middle East,” says the report by the company, which is the market leader for raw beef production and commercialisation in Brazil.

Out of total exports by Minerva in the last quarter of last year, 13 per cent went to the Middle East and 17.5 per cent went to Africa. According to the company, these markets are less dependent on credit and have fixed exchange rate regime. The African share of foreign sales by Minerva used to be much lower, at 3.5 per cent in the last quarter of 2007. Minerva informs that it even offered its products for higher prices in the African market, as a consequence of the high purchasing power that it maintains with the fixed exchange rate regime.

The company's gross revenue from exports remained practically stable in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared with the same period of the previous year, with a slight decrease of 0.2 per cent. The figure was US$ 311.3 million, as against US$ 311.9 million in late 2007. In all of 2008, Minerva posted gross revenue from exports of US$ 2.1 billion, as against US$ 1.4 billion in the previous year. In this case, there was growth of 28.4 per cent. Total gross revenue by the company totalled US$ 2.3 billion in 2008, 42.5 per cent more than in 2007.

Not only Minerva, but also all of the Brazilian meat production industry was affected by the international crisis late last year. In all of the country, by the way, in the last quarter, the crisis had a negative impact on exports, which decreased by 6 per cent (in revenues), a higher rate than the reduction in foreign sales by Minerva. Brazil posted revenues of US$ 834.7 million from exports of beef during that period. Volume-wise, the reduction was even greater, of 26 per cent, down to 207,500 tonnes.

The 42.5 per cent growth that Minerva obtained in its gross revenues in 2008 was mostly due to the domestic market. The company informs that its domestic sales grew 76.4 per cent. Besides being the Brazilian market leader for beef, Minerva is also a leader in leathers and livestock. The company ranks among the three largest Brazilian exporters and sells to 80 different countries. Minerva has a slaughtering capacity for 6,000 heads per day.

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