Minerva’s CEO in Uruguay: “There’s no reason the outlook should change”

This Monday marked a new edition of Experiencias Clipex, a fixture each June. Under the theme Livestock intensification: adapt and stay, speakers included Álvaro Ferrés (Numix director and feedlot advisor), Marcos Guigou (ADP director), and Patricio Silveira (CEO of Minerva Foods in Uruguay). The event was moderated by journalist Martín Olaverry.

Silveira expressed a relatively optimistic outlook for Uruguay’s livestock sector in the short and medium term. In his view, “no risks are currently on the horizon,” although he emphasized that the demand and price improvements seen throughout most of 2024 and early 2025 “won’t last forever.” Still, he said, “we’re not seeing turbulence on this flight” and added, “there’s no reason the outlook should change. I don’t see storm clouds. We are in a reasonable position.”

He noted that over the past year and a half, Uruguay has been “well positioned” to seize opportunities in the international market, reflected in the “pass-through” of prices across the supply chain. Regarding the 30% rise in steer prices, he said, “Let’s hope prices keep rising and we can continue passing them on,” while noting that some markets “have paused their growth.”

He clarified that this does not imply a “pessimistic view” of the business and stressed the country’s need to “seek value-added niches.” He acknowledged this as the industry’s “main pending task,” especially regarding pricing signals for 290–300 kg carcasses.

Silveira believes it is “possible” for Uruguay to capture added value for a portion of those carcasses in “niches” willing to pay premiums for specific cuts and attributes (marbling, organic certification, grain finishing, etc.). He specifically pointed to the opportunity of developing chilled beef exports to China, despite the current challenges of competing with Australia, which supplies 40% of that volume.

He also emphasized the industry’s need to process “higher volumes.” In that regard, he said that thanks to the crop-livestock synergy, it’s possible to envision reaching 4 million calves in the short term.