Analysis of Buffalo Market Setting in the State of Pará, Brazilian Amazon

The objective of this study was to analyze the structure and conjuncture of the buffalo breeding tendency in the state of Pará, in order to generate relevant information for decision-making of farmers involved in the activity, as well as to guide public policies to stimulate the development sector of Pará’s economy in Brazilian Amazon. The study was conducted using secondary data, collected from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA), Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC), Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV), Central Bank of Brazil (BACEN) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on the herd, production, price and financing granted to buffalo breeding. The Brazilian buffalo herd is concentrated in the northern region of the country, with 66.15% of the total herd, particularly in the state of Pará, which participates with 37.90% of the Brazilian herd, constituting the largest producing state in Brazil. In this state, the activity is concentrated in the Marajó meso-regions and in the Lower Amazon. In addition, it was found that the volume of rural credit granted to buffalo herd projects, fluctuated from 1995 to 2015, concentrating in the period from 2004 to 2007, stimulated by the expansion of cattle raising at pasture due to Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), a disease triggered in Europe over that period.