GOVERNANCE IN THE BEEF SUPPLY CHAIN: An Exploratory Study of Sustainable Production Standards Practiced In the Northern Region of Mato Grosso

In order to keep the exporting market of Brazilian beef, the agents of that chain need to be aware of the requirements from import countries, especially regarding the production within the sustainable standards. The beef from Legal Amazon has been a steady subject for this debate. Within this focus, the current study aims to explore the use of sustainable production standards by agents involved in the supply chain of the beef produced in the northern region of Mato Grosso State. The methodology was the qualitative research of a case study. In order to compound the research, a slaughterhouse, a feedlot, an association creators and individual cattle breeders, all acting within the area covered by the Legal Amazon, were selected. The results showed that the agents who take part of this chain are concerned about meeting the standards required by the importing market, but they come across with difficulties on obeying such requirements. Limitations of study is because it is based on a solely case study and research only applied in one municipality of the Amazon Region