Brazilian meat packers including Minerva and Marfrig have temporarily paused production of packaged beef due to a recent increase in cattle prices and inability to pass on higher costs. That’s increased the importance of exports. Brazil’s beef exports climbed 10.8% year over year in February, dominated by a 71.7% surge in shipments to China potentially linked to consumers looking for alternative sources of protein in the wake of the ongoing swine flu outbreak. The growth in exports in February was led by an 18.9% rise in shipments linked to JBS while exports linked to Mine...