{
  "id": 4618957,
  "title": "As duas obsessões da Minerva: diversificar e desalavancar",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/as-duas-obsessoes-da-minerva-diversificar-e-desalavancar",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-31T09:50:58.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Brazil Journal",
    "slug": "brazil-journal",
    "url": "https://braziljournal.com/as-duas-obsessoes-da-minerva-diversificar-e-desalavancar/"
  },
  "original_language": "pt",
  "account": "BARRETOS – Minerva Foods CEO Fernando Queiroz was taken aback by a recent Trump tweet announcing a temporary 90-day suspension of tariffs on 300,000 tons of lean beef for import. Upon further investigation, Queiroz revealed that the benefit of the new quota would solely be conferred to Brazil and Paraguay. The suspension aims to increase supply in the American market and curb record-high beef prices. This comes at a crucial time when China is on the verge of closing a door, as Brazilian beef exports have already consumed more than 90% of the annual quota established by the Chinese government for 2026, which is 1,106,000 tons. When the quota is reached, any excess must face a 55% tariff and additional import tax of 12%. Early signals indicate the quota may soon hit its ceiling, with Brazilian beef exports to China dropping 47.8% in volume in July, reaching 82.7 thousand tons in value. China has become the main driver of Brazilian beef exports; in 2025, shipments reached a record high of 1.6 million tons, generating US$8.9 billion in revenue. Queiroz emphasized that diversification is a new reality, with the company's operations now spread across Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Colombia, and Australia. This strong presence in South America aids in supply to the US and China. Minerva and its competitors are now closely monitoring the opening of markets like Japan and South Korea. Geopolitics is driving the entire meat industry, prompting the company to adopt defensive strategies. In the first half of 2023, Minerva spent R$1.2 billion to R$1.3 billion in cash, mainly due to inventory buildup and increased working capital. Currently, the company's inventory stands at R$5.3 billion. CFO Edison Ticle stated that burning half of this inventory would generate R$2.7 billion, more than the company typically sells during the second half of the year. With current costs, carrying this stock does not make sense. Despite the cash burn in the first half of the year, Minerva has accumulated positive cash generation in the last 12 months, totaling R$600 million, despite financial expenses and capex, which remained high due to the acquisition of Marfrig assets. Ticle noted that the company expects to generate over R$1 billion in cash free during 2026, once investment is normalized to a level close to maintenance capex. The company's leverage reached 3.7x in 2024 after acquiring Marfrig assets, but has since fallen to around 2.9x, which Ticle considers high even considering the Selic rate. Ticle's primary concern is not establishing an ideal leverage number but evaluating how much EBITDA is consumed by financial expenses. Given current and expected interest rates for the next two years, an acceptable maximum leverage would be 1.7x. Therefore, Minerva has temporarily reduced dividend payouts: instead of distributing 50% of net profit when leverage is below 2.5x, the company will only pay the minimum legal dividend of 25% until it reduces its debt. Minerva's stock has fallen by 35% over the past year, valuing the company at R$3.9 billion.",
  "summary": "BARRETOS – Assim como todos os executivos do setor frigorífico, Fernando Queiroz, o CEO da Minerva Foods e membro da família controladora, foi surpreendido por uma postagem de Donald Trump nos últimos dias. Nela, o presidente americano anunciava a suspensão temporária por 90 dias das tarifas aplicadas acima da cota de importação para 300 mil […] The post As duas obsessões da Minerva: diversificar…",
  "key_points": [
    "Minerva Foods CEO Fernando Queiroz surprised by Trump's 90-day beef tariff suspension",
    "Brazil and Paraguay to benefit from increased beef supply in US market",
    "Minerva diversifying operations across South America to counter geopolitical risks"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}