Angus semen sales are projected to grow by 32% in 2025.

After a period of contraction, the Brazilian Angus semen market returned to consistent growth, ending 2025 with a significant increase of 31.19% compared to the previous year. Data from the Brazilian Association of Artificial Insemination (ASBIA) shows that it was the third largest sales year in the history of the breed in the country. The performance reinforces the resumption of a positive cycle, driven by demand for quality meat and the reorganization of the national livestock industry in recent years, which is expected to continue into 2026. The recent sales activity contrasts with the scenario observed between 2021 and 2023. After a historic record in 2020, Angus semen sales registered three consecutive years of decline, accumulating a 38.06% drop by 2023. In 2024, the market began to react, with a slight increase of 1.48%, before accelerating significantly in 2025. For the president of the Brazilian Angus Association, José Paulo Dornelles Cairoli, this new moment is directly linked to the increased value of quality meat in the international market. According to him, Angus genetics has become a key element in adding value to Brazilian production, especially in crossbreeding with Nelore cows. "When you add quality to the meat, the value practically doubles in exports," he emphasizes. In their assessment, the strong domestic and international demand is already generating a shortage of half-blood Angus cattle on the market. This growth is occurring in parallel with the behavior of the artificial insemination sector in the country. After the overall record of doses of beef cattle semen sold in 2021, the market underwent adjustments, with declines in 2022 (-9.33%) and 2023 (-5.40%), before resuming growth in 2024 (+2.77%) and gaining strength in 2025 (+7.95%). The director of ASBIA, Lilian Matimoto, explains that this movement follows the cattle cycle and the price dynamics of the arroba (a unit of weight) and the calf. In her view, the increase in the value of the calf leads the rancher to react by investing more in genetics, in search of productivity and efficiency. This is something historically observed and helps explain both the sales peak in 2021 and the recovery that began in the second half of 2024 and consolidated throughout 2025. "It's a reactive behavior to the market: when inputs become more expensive, interest in productivity and quality grows," he states. Growth linked to premium beef Another determining factor for the advancement of Angus genetics is the strengthening of quality beef certification. According to Maychel Borges, manager of the Certified Angus Beef Program, there is a direct relationship between the expansion of the initiative and semen sales. In practice, it's a feedback loop: the growth of the program stimulates demand for genetics, while a greater supply of animals is essential to sustain the expansion of certification. In his assessment, the basis of this system is Fixed-Time Artificial Insemination (FTAI), responsible for the majority of animals that reach the program. Borges emphasizes that the sector already felt the negative effects of the drop in semen sales years ago and that, therefore, today there is a greater effort to get closer to producers to guarantee the supply of raw materials. "Without genetics, there is no way to sustain the growth of Angus beef," he summarizes. The advancement of AI (Artificial Insemination), in fact, is one of the pillars of this transformation. In 2025, according to Lilian Matimoto of ASBIA, the technique will account for more than 90% of inseminations performed in Brazil, contributing to economies of scale and efficiency in production. From an economic point of view, the current movement also reflects structural changes in the Brazilian herd. According to Thiago Carvalho, a researcher at the Center for Advanced Studies in Applied Economics (Cepea), the drop in Angus semen sales in previous years was linked to the need to rebuild the Nelore herd after a period of high female slaughter. Now, with this more advanced rebuilding, the market is once again demanding genetics focused on meat quality. He further notes that the sector has matured, with producers better prepared to work with industrial crossbreeding. This scenario, combined with greater consumer demand, has increased the demand for animals with Angus blood and contributed to a differentiated valuation of these products in the market. A unique moment in the field and in the market. In the field, this perception is confirmed by breeders. For Valdomiro Poliselli Júnior, the current moment is one of strong growth, with more active insemination centers and increasing demand for Angus bulls. He highlights that there are pent-up orders and even waiting lists, a direct reflection of the search for animals that meet the standards required by slaughterhouses and international markets. "It's a unique moment, with a lot of demand and confidence in the market," he says. Regionally, the advancement of Angus genetics also reflects the geographic expansion of the breed. In 2025, the Central-West region led the commercialization of Angus semen, concentrating more than 50% of the total, followed by the South, North, Southeast, and Northeast regions. The prominence of the Central-West region is directly linked to the consolidation of the Angus-Nelore crossbreeding, which has brought the breed to regions where it previously had a limited presence. With the opening of new international markets, greater demand for quality, and the evolution of reproductive technologies, the sector expects continued growth. Although factors such as the political landscape and market fluctuations may influence the pace, the structural basis points to an environment favorable to the expansion of Angus genetics in Brazil. 

This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.