EN 
PT_BR 
The price of live cattle per arroba (a Brazilian unit of weight) increased by 1.62% last week in the state of Mato Grosso, according to a survey released by the Mato Grosso Institute of Agricultural Economics (IMEA). This upward trend in prices is gaining momentum due to the lower supply of female cattle, and live cattle prices are averaging R$ 300.74/@.
According to the Institute, slaughter schedules last week averaged 14.48 working days, an increase of 3.13% between weeks, resulting from the lower supply of finished animals in the state.
Given this scenario of rising prices, the exchange ratio between finished cattle and yearling calves fell to 1.88 head/head in October 2025, compared to 2.03 head/head in the same period of 2024, reflecting the higher value of calves compared to finished cattle.
"In the annual comparison, the calf went from R$ 11.33/kg to R$ 13.24/kg, an increase of 16.85%, while the price of finished cattle showed a more moderate increase of 8.17%," IMEA highlighted.
This difference in pace increased the replacement cost and reduced the exchange rate, indicating greater profitability in breeding and less purchasing power for breeders and fatteners.
IMEA believes that in the short term, the lower supply of replacement cattle tends to increase calf prices, which should happen less significantly with finished cattle prices, as there is still a high volume of finished females, keeping the exchange ratio at low levels.
Check out the full report HERE.
