Brazil’s pork industry brings home the bacon

Overview

With a robust domestic market and competitive production costs, Brazil’s pork industry has expanded by nearly 50 per cent over the past seven years. Other factors, such as the availability of low-cost land and cheap, abundant labour, contribute to Brazil’s ability to do battle in the global pork market.

Despite these advantages, the pork industry’s tragic flaw continues to be foot-and-mouth disease. While the infection has not been found in Brazil’s swine herd for decades, outbreaks...