Brazil beef exporters brace for fallout from Middle East conflict

By Ana Mano

SAO PAULO, March 3 (Reuters) - Brazilian beef exporters are worried about a potentially prolonged conflict in the Middle East, which is the destination of about 10% of Brazil's beef shipments, Roberto Perosa, head of beef exporters' group Abiec, told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday.

Perosa said Abiec companies estimate 30% to 40% of shipments also pass through the Middle East before reaching markets in Southeast Asia and China, making the situation extremely worrying.

"There is nothing we can do," he said by telephone. "It is out of our control."

Perosa said the cost of freight to ship meat products to a conflict zone is prohibitive. The cost of shipping a single beef container from South America to the Middle East had tripled in some cases to $6,000, he said.

Abiec represents large listed beefpackers including Minerva BEEF3.SA, JBS Z98.F, and MBRF MBRF3.SA. The latter two also have meat processing facilities in the Middle East, where they moved in recent years after local governments decided to cut dependence on food imports.

"The situation is worrisome," Perosa said, adding Brazilian exporters will have to scale down production amid higher freight costs and the overall logistic uncertainty brought about by war.