2009, six Brazilian slaughterhouses file for bankruptcy protection.Independência was the first large company to do so followed by Arantes, Frigoestrela, Margen, IFC and Quatro Marcos. Mato Grosso State, home to Brazil’s largest beef cattle herd, has lost R$4.2 billion in the last twelve months as slaughterhouses have closed down, according to the State’s Livestock Farming Economy Institute.
The global crisis, which has cut demand and reduced exports, has been the major block to cash flow for the slaughterhouses. Prior to the crisis, the rising price cycle for beef cattle had already begun to squeeze profit margins and reduce liquidity for slaughterhouses.