Warning over 1 million head drop in five years

Paraguay’s cattle herd experienced another 3.23% decline year-on-year, with total bovine and buffalo stock reaching 13,034,491 head at the end of the country’s first round of foot-and-mouth disease vaccination. These figures reflect an approximate 7% contraction in the national herd over the last five years.

In an interview on Todo a la Parrilla on COPA TV, Senacsa president José Carlos Martin stated that the vaccination campaign “showed a much more significant stock reduction than in previous years,” and that “looking at the trend over the last five years, we’ve lost close to 1 million head of cattle.”

Nonetheless, he expressed optimism for 2025, saying prospects are good to reverse the situation, but emphasized that “we must work together to rebuild the herd.”

Martin acknowledged that Paraguay faces a major challenge: improving cow productivity, which has yet to improve, along with low heifer retention. “I hope this year, with good weather and prices, we’ll see better productivity. But for now, slaughter is growing at a much higher pace than in other Mercosur countries — up 17% in the first four months of the year,” he warned. Source: Valor Agro