Port of Natal Completes Its First Live Cattle Export by Sea

The Port of Natal, managed by Companhia Docas do Rio Grande do Norte (Codern), completed its first maritime export of live cattle, sending animals to Saudi Arabia. Datamar News reported that the shipment, carried out on October 27 and 28, included 2,700 head in an operation valued at around R$20 million, according to the Rio Grande do Norte Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (Sape-RN). Portal Portuario, however, reported that the first vessel departed with 2,350 head bound for that country.

Both sources agreed that a second shipment is already scheduled for this week, although they differ on destination and volume. Datamar News noted that the next vessel will carry approximately 3,700 animals to Lebanon, while Portal Portuario specified that the second ship will depart on Friday the 30th with 3,983 head bound for Egypt. Portal Portuario also added that new shipments are already scheduled for December.

The operation was made possible after Codern received authorization from Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (Mapa) on June 17, 2026, to handle live cattle exports. The process is overseen by the International Agricultural Surveillance Service (Vigiagro), the Receita Federal and Mapa, and includes animal welfare protocols, such as the use of rice straw and sugarcane bagasse as bedding during the voyage. According to Datamar News, the animals remained in quarantine for about 16 days in the greater Natal area, while Portal Portuario detailed that, upon arrival at the port, the animals are moved directly from trucks onto the vessels without contact with the terminal's outer areas.

Sape-RN Secretary Guilherme Saldanha estimated that the activity could generate up to R$1.5 billion annually for Rio Grande do Norte if the state manages to capture 15% of Brazil's live cattle export market, estimated at 2 million head, starting in 2026 or 2027. Saldanha compared that potential with the annual revenue generated by the state's fruit industry and stated that, if a weekly vessel departure were achieved, the impact would be equivalent to setting up a slaughterhouse on the scale of JBS, although without slaughtering the animals domestically.

From Codern, technical and commercial director Paulo Sidney Gomes Silva described the milestone as a historic moment for the port, the result of four years of work and coordination between the company, the State Government, the Ministry of Agriculture, Vigiagro and the exporting companies. Silva emphasized that the new operation is carried out with environmental responsibility, sanitary safety and respect for animal welfare, and that it strengthens livestock farming in Rio Grande do Norte, including family farming.