Bovine herd drops 3%
12/12/2008
The Brazilian Geography and Statistics Institute (IBGE) has released information showing a 3% reduction of the country's herd between 2006 and 2007, from 205.9 million cattle to 199.7 million.
Octávio Costa de Oliveira, husbandry manager at IBGE, has explained that the drop shows the impact of the slaughter of cows at reproductive age, a practice that started in 2003.
"Because replacing those animals is a slow process, the herd tends to diminish in number for a longer period than expected," he said.
In spite of the 2006-2007 drop, Brazil has the largest commercial bovine herd in the world, exceeding India's herd of 177.8 million head and China's of 116.8 million head.
The Brazilian states with the largest herds are Mato Grosso with12% of the country's total, Minas Gerais with 11.3% and Mato Grosso do Sul with 10.9%.
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