Forbes Agro100 2023: The Year of Brazil’s Largest Agribusiness Companies

The Forbes Agro100 2023 showcased the performance of the sector’s companies in the previous year. In December, executives from these companies gathered in São Paulo, at the Rosewood Matarazzo Ballroom. It was time to celebrate a year of significant challenges. This is because 2022 was not the best year for the Brazilian economy. However, it’s worth pausing here. It’s more accurate to say that 2022 was not good for the Brazilian economy, with the exception of agribusiness. On average, the revenue of the 100 largest companies in this sector operating in Brazil grew by 20.2% compared to 2021.

For comparison, the growth of Brazil’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was 2.9%, a year considered positive compared to previous ones. Combined, the revenues of these companies amounted to R$2.23 trillion, or 22.5% of the GDP.

Even with the turbulence in global markets caused by hostilities in Ukraine and the movement of central banks in Europe and the United States to raise interest rates and slow down the economy, agribusiness leaders enjoyed open markets for food, fiber, and biofuels, which multiplied sales and secured profits.

The numbers from the trade balance prove this. In 2022, the total exported by the agribusiness set a new record: US$158.9 billion, a 32% increase compared to 2021. The volume shipped grew by 8.1%. With this, agribusiness exports represented 47.6% of the total exported by Brazil last year.

The Forbes Agro100 List would not have been possible without the collaboration of S&P Global. Part of the data came from the S&P Capital IQ Pro system, managed by S&P, and part was provided by the companies themselves. In most cases, the results from the calendar year of 2022 were considered, except for agroenergy companies, which disclose their numbers in the sugarcane harvest year, which runs from April of the current year to March of the following year. Check out the companies in the Agro100 2023:

1 – JBS

SECTOR: ANIMAL PROTEIN
FOUNDED: 1953, IN ANÁPOLIS (GO)
REVENUE: R$374.85 BILLION
CHIEF EXECUTIVE: GILBERTO TOMAZONI
Leading the ranking in animal protein and the largest private Brazilian company in terms of revenue, JBS celebrates 70 years in 2023, with 270,000 employees in more than 20 countries and 400 production units. It was considered by the Foundation Institute of Economic Research (Fipe), through the Center for Regional and Urban Economics at the University of São Paulo (Nereus), as one of the companies with the greatest socioeconomic impact in the country. In 2022, JBS announced the creation of its Biotech Innovation Center, an investment of R$300 million in Florianópolis.

2 – RAÍZEN ENERGIA
SECTOR: AGROENERGY
FOUNDED: 2011, IN SÃO PAULO (SP)
REVENUE: R$245.83 BILLION
CHIEF EXECUTIVE: RICARDO MUSSA
Raízen, a joint venture between Shell and Cosan, is a leader in the production of sugar, ethanol, and bioenergy in Brazil. With 35 production units, it has 1.3 million hectares of sugarcane cultivation and a network of 7,300 stations under the Shell brand, totaling 4,000 clients in Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. In 2022, it announced investments of US$1.5 billion in the construction of five plants for the production of cellulosic ethanol, a sustainable biofuel also known as E2G, increasing its portfolio of low carbon footprint plants to nine units.

3 – NESTLÉ DO BRASIL
SECTOR: FOOD AND BEVERAGES
FOUNDED: 1866, IN VEVEY (SWITZERLAND); IN BRAZIL SINCE 1921
REVENUE: R$179.52 BILLION
CHIEF EXECUTIVE: MARCELO MELCHIOR
Nestlé set up its first factory in Brazil a century ago in Araras (SP), for the production of Milkmaid condensed milk, which would later be known as Leite Moça. It has 31 industrial units in eight Brazilian states and employs more than 20,000 people. This year, it announced investments of R$2.7 billion in Brazil until 2026 to modernize biscuit and chocolate factories. Nestlé has the largest chocolate segment of the group in the world in the country and will expand production lines in Caçapava (SP), Marília (SP), and Vila Velha (ES).

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14 – MINERVA

SECTOR: ANIMAL PROTEIN
FOUNDED: 1957, IN BARRETOS (SP)
REVENUE: R$30.98 BILLION
CHIEF EXECUTIVE: FERNANDO GALETTI DE QUEIROZ
Minerva Foods is the leader in beef exports in South America. In 2023, it made the largest commercial transaction in its history by acquiring 16 slaughter and deboning plants from Marfrig for R$7.5 billion. With the purchase, it reinforces its positioning in important production states, such as Mato Grosso do Sul, and expands its presence in exporting countries, such as Argentina and Uruguay, becoming the main slaughterhouse in South America and the second largest in Brazil, with a slaughtering capacity of 22,300 heads.

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Fonte: Forbes Agro