Sustainability and Market Orientation in the Brazilian Beef Chain

The demand for natural resources, energy and food facing the contemporary perception of sustainability is imposing challenges to the productive sectors in accordance with market guidelines. In this context, the Brazilian agribusiness seeks to maintain external competitiveness and to satisfy growing domestic demands. In beef production, this competitiveness pervades traceability, food safety and sustainability. This article aims to identify the sustainability state of the art in agribusiness and characterize it within the Brazilian beef chain. Descriptive methodology, combining a literature review and a documentary data survey were adopted. An outline of the dimensions of agribusiness sustainability, drawn from benchmark practices, indicates that environmental, social and technological demands have become part of the industry's agenda. The data for beef cattle point to a growth in production but demonstrate that expansion has occurred in areas of environmental tension, which creates a demand for sustainability in the beef chain. A table of guidelines for sustainability demonstrates that although perceptions are not yet harmonized among the links in the whole beef chain, many of the technological guidelines for sustainable production may increase the producer's economic efficiency. In the Brazilian case, the increment of initiatives and dissemination of sustainable practices among the beef chain is desirable to provide a coordinated response of production, processing and distribution organizations facing market opportunities for sustainable livestock.