Share of cereals allocated to human food in Brazil
Brazil: Share of cereals allocated to human food was 31.9% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Share of cereals allocated to human food in Brazil, 1961–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, share of cereals allocated to human food in Brazil stood at 31.9%.
That represents a change of down 3.6% on the previous year and down 21.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of cereals allocated to human food in Brazil peaked at 55.9% in 1964 and was at its lowest, 31.1%, in 2021.
Brazil ranks 159th of 192 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 63 years of available data.
Share of cereals allocated to human food in Brazil, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 54.5% | — |
| 1962 | 54.4% | -0.1% |
| 1963 | 51.8% | -4.8% |
| 1964 | 55.9% | +7.8% |
| 1965 | 48.9% | -12.5% |
| 1966 | 53.2% | +8.8% |
| 1967 | 51.3% | -3.7% |
| 1968 | 52.2% | +1.8% |
| 1969 | 52.3% | +0.2% |
| 1970 | 51.1% | -2.4% |
| 1971 | 51.1% | +0.1% |
| 1972 | 44.8% | -12.3% |
| 1973 | 50.6% | +12.9% |
| 1974 | 49.5% | -2.2% |
| 1975 | 49.9% | +0.9% |
| 1976 | 51.3% | +2.8% |
| 1977 | 49.9% | -2.8% |
| 1978 | 52.6% | +5.3% |
| 1979 | 50.3% | -4.3% |
| 1980 | 45.7% | -9.1% |
| 1981 | 45.9% | +0.4% |
| 1982 | 45.3% | -1.3% |
| 1983 | 53.3% | +17.5% |
| 1984 | 47.9% | -10.0% |
| 1985 | 48.3% | +0.9% |
| 1986 | 46.4% | -4.0% |
| 1987 | 43.9% | -5.4% |
| 1988 | 45.0% | +2.4% |
| 1989 | 43.5% | -3.2% |
| 1990 | 48.3% | +11.0% |
| 1991 | 45.9% | -4.9% |
| 1992 | 39.7% | -13.6% |
| 1993 | 40.5% | +2.0% |
| 1994 | 38.5% | -5.0% |
| 1995 | 37.3% | -3.0% |
| 1996 | 36.8% | -1.3% |
| 1997 | 38.8% | +5.4% |
| 1998 | 40.3% | +3.8% |
| 1999 | 39.9% | -0.8% |
| 2000 | 37.2% | -6.7% |
| 2001 | 38.2% | +2.7% |
| 2002 | 41.0% | +7.2% |
| 2003 | 43.7% | +6.7% |
| 2004 | 41.0% | -6.3% |
| 2005 | 42.0% | +2.6% |
| 2006 | 40.7% | -3.1% |
| 2007 | 39.6% | -2.9% |
| 2008 | 33.1% | -16.4% |
| 2009 | 38.0% | +14.8% |
| 2010 | 40.6% | +7.0% |
| 2011 | 40.3% | -0.8% |
| 2012 | 37.1% | -7.9% |
| 2013 | 40.5% | +9.3% |
| 2014 | 38.1% | -6.1% |
| 2015 | 33.6% | -11.8% |
| 2016 | 42.3% | +25.8% |
| 2017 | 35.3% | -16.5% |
| 2018 | 34.2% | -3.0% |
| 2019 | 33.7% | -1.4% |
| 2020 | 31.4% | -7.0% |
| 2021 | 31.1% | -0.9% |
| 2022 | 33.1% | +6.5% |
| 2023 | 31.9% | -3.6% |
Brazil compared with similar countries
- Brazil's 31.9% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 55.5%, 58% of the median. (57 countries reporting)
- Brazil's 31.9% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 55.5%, 58% of the median. (33 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 52.7% | 48.9% | 55.9% | 9 |
| 1970s | 50.1% | 44.8% | 52.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 46.5% | 43.5% | 53.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 40.6% | 36.8% | 48.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 39.5% | 33.1% | 43.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 37.6% | 33.6% | 42.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 31.9% | 31.1% | 33.1% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Brazil
More agriculture & rural data for Brazil
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 10.36 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0609 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 652.04 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -1.95 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1182 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 6.1% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 6.1% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 5.2% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.8% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of cereals allocated to human food in Brazil?
- Share of cereals allocated to human food in Brazil was 31.9% in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of cereals allocated to human food recorded in Brazil?
- The highest recorded value was 55.9% in 1964.
- What is the lowest share of cereals allocated to human food recorded in Brazil?
- The lowest recorded value was 31.1% in 2021.
- How does Brazil rank for share of cereals allocated to human food?
- Brazil ranks 159th out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of cereals allocated to human food rising or falling in Brazil?
- Over the last ten years it is down 21.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Brazil data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of cereals allocated to human food. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of cereals available for domestic use – after accounting for trade – that is allocated to direct human consumption, relative to the total used for human food, animal feed, and industrial purposes. This excludes cereals used for seed, processing, and losses.