Imea: Dairy operating costs in Brazil’s Mato Grosso rise 5.59%

The figures were released through the Custo de Produção Agropecuária project (CPA-MT), which Imea conducts in partnership with Senar-MT. The effective operating cost indicator, known as COE, stood at R$1.47 per litre in the previous quarter.

Running expenses rose by 7.08% over the quarter. These expenses cover the maintenance of dairy-farming activity, with supplementary feeding among the components recording an increase.

Expenditure on animal supplementation climbed by 10.38%. CPA-MT linked this increase to higher prices for concentrated feeds, which are used more heavily during the dry season as pasture availability declines. More expensive supplements increased the resources producers needed to devote to herd nutrition.

Total operating costs, measured by the separate COT indicator, increased by 4.80% from the preceding quarter to R$2.39 per litre. The article described rising operating expenses and input prices as putting pressure on dairy farmers’ operating margins.

Supplementary feeding remains part of herd management until the rainy season returns to Mato Grosso, given the dry-season reduction in pasture. The article highlighted expenditure monitoring, cost control and more efficient use of nutritional inputs as measures for managing that pressure.