Cattle slaughter reached a record in the second quarter of 2025

Cattle slaughter increased by 3.3% in the second quarter of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024 and by 5.4% compared to the first quarter of 2025, reaching 10.40 million head, reported the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) when releasing the preliminary results for the period. This result represents the production of 2.63 million tons of beef carcass weight, an annual increase of 1.0% and 6.0% compared to the first quarter of 2025.

As a result, in the first half of 2025 Brazil slaughtered 22.7 million head of cattle, producing 5.12 million tons of beef. Slaughter grew by 3.9% year-on-year (770 thousand head) and beef production increased by 1.5% (77 thousand tons carcass weight) in the semester, reaching 5.12 million tons.

Hog slaughter totaled 14.87 million head in the second quarter of 2025, an annual increase of 1.6% and 3.8% compared to the first quarter of 2025. Carcasses amounted to 1.40 million tons, up 4.7% year-on-year and 6.1% compared to the first quarter of 2025.

As for chickens, 1.64 billion head were slaughtered in the second quarter of 2025. This result represents an increase of 1.1% compared to the second quarter of 2024 and stability (0.0%) compared to the first quarter of 2025. The total carcass weight was 3.56 million tons, equivalent to an annual increase of 2.7% and 2.4% compared to the first quarter of 2025.