A concentração da indústria de frigoríficos e a crise da pecuária na região sudeste do Pará: uma abordagem multifacetada

Abstract

The present research analyzes the roots of 2008 crisis in cattle ranching in the state of Pará, focusing on the conflict between farmers and meatpackers from a multifaceted approach. Having as initial hypothesis the imbalance between supply and demand of cattle, the study is divided in two parts. In the first, it is researched the cattle ranching activity itself, particularly the scientific about its feasibility in Amazon soil and its recent evolution. The second part addresses the installation of the big meatpacker plants in the Southeastern region of Pará, its increase in slaughter capacity and the imbalance with the supply of bovine cattle. In the context of this imbalance, both external causes, such the exportation of live cattle e and international financial crisis, and internal causes, particularly the role non-governmental organizations, of public policy and the relationship between farmers and meatpackers. The study concludes that the crisis was caused by a combination of structural and conjunctural factors. These conjunctural factors are inset in the context of the insertion of the cattle breeding of the state of Pará in the international markets, affected by the international financial crisis, by the exportation of live cattle and by the industrial policy of the Federal Government. The structural factors are those related the concentrated land property structure e to the model of extensive cattle ranching model adopted in the region, still plagued by the breaching of environmental and labor laws, and by relations of mistrust between cattle ranchers and meatpackers, where the market still wasn’t able to create a governance structure where agents can solve their problems.