Rio de Janeiro – In 2010, there were roughly 209.5 million heads of cattle in Brazil, 2.1% more than in 2009, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) informed this Wednesday (26).
According to the survey coordinator, Octávio de Oliveira, the increase re-establishes the traditional herd size, after a period of intense slaughter of females from 2002 to 2006, which stemmed the increase of the herd from 2007 onward.
“In 2007 the herd size decreased, but from 2008 onwards there have been slight increments of 1% to 2%. In 2010, the rate of growth was a bit higher than in the preceding year, at a level of normality, ranging from 2% to 3%, explained the researcher.
The Midwest, North and Southeast regions of Brazil concentrate the largest numbers of bovines. The buffalo her increased by 4.3% during the same period, and is located mainly in the states of Pará and Amapá. The horse herd and the mule and donkey herd remained stable, whereas the ass herd decreased by 2.8% from 2009 to 2010.
According to the survey, the poultry flock remained stable in 2010, at approximately 1 billion animals, concentrated in the state of Paraná. The number of chickens increased by 0.9%, and the number of quails grew by 13.1%. Both flocks are concentrated in the state of São Paulo. The amount of rabbits, located mostly in the South region, saw a 4.2% decrease.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
