Insights

Market notes on global animal-protein trade

Raphael Carmo · Managing Partner, 4D World

Glucosamine and the joint-health boom

Key Takeaways ▸ Glucosamine is an amino sugar the body uses to build and maintain cartilage. ▸ The classic source is shellfish shells, which carry a shellfish-allergen flag. ▸ Bovine cartilage and con...

Pharma Prices & Markets Rendering

9 jul 2026

Raphael Carmo · Managing Partner, 4D World

Pork's quiet record: Brazil ships 794,200 tonnes in H1

Key Takeaways ▸ Brazil set a record 794,200 tonnes of pork exports in H1 2026, up 10%. ▸ H1 pork revenue reached US$1.859 billion, up 7.9% year on year. ▸ May was a record month at 129,400 tonnes; Jun...

Brazil Prices & Markets Southeast Asia

8 jul 2026

Raphael Carmo · Managing Partner, 4D World

The three trends reshaping pet nutrition in Europe

Key Takeaways ▸ Three forces reshape European pet nutrition: natural/raw, sustainability and preventive health. ▸ Natural, raw and human-grade formats keep taking European shelf space. ▸ Demand for na...

Europe Innovation Pet Food

7 jul 2026

Raphael Carmo · Managing Partner, 4D World

Brazil chicken's best half ever — and where it went

Key Takeaways ▸ Brazil exported a record 2.94 million tonnes of chicken in H1 2026, up 12.9%. ▸ H1 chicken revenue reached US$5.7 billion, up 17% year on year. ▸ June shipments jumped 40.6% to 482,800...

Brazil Food Prices & Markets

6 jul 2026

Raphael Carmo · Managing Partner, 4D World

When one buyer pulls back: the great beef reshuffle

Key Takeaways ▸ By late July 2026 Brazil had used about 80% of its China beef quota. ▸ China's tariff-free quota for Brazilian beef is 1.106 million tonnes. ▸ Out-of-quota beef into China faces a 55% ...

Brazil China Prices & Markets

5 jul 2026

Raphael Carmo · Managing Partner, 4D World

Foreign-body control: the discipline behind premium protein

Key Takeaways ▸ Foreign-body control layers defences rather than relying on a single check. ▸ HACCP starts by designing out contamination: guarded blades, no glass on the floor. ▸ Rare-earth magnets p...

Food Safety Nutre Meat Pet Food

4 jul 2026

Raphael Carmo · Managing Partner, 4D World

The Maillard reaction: why kibble and steak smell so good

Key Takeaways ▸ The Maillard reaction occurs when amino acids meet reducing sugars under heat. ▸ It creates hundreds of new aroma molecules, brown colour and roasted flavour. ▸ French chemist Louis-Ca...

Food Innovation Pet Food

3 jul 2026

Raphael Carmo · Managing Partner, 4D World

MDM: the cheapest protein that feeds millions

Key Takeaways ▸ MDM is a finely textured protein paste recovered from poultry backs and necks. ▸ High pressure forces the meat-and-bone mix through a fine screen, leaving bone behind. ▸ Processors ble...

Food Rendering Southeast Asia

2 jul 2026

Raphael Carmo · Managing Partner, 4D World

Brazil's record beef half: US$9.85bn and a China surge

Key Takeaways ▸ Brazil shipped a record 1.705 million tonnes of beef in H1 2026, up 15.5%. ▸ H1 beef revenue reached US$9.85 billion, up 36.2% as price outpaced volume. ▸ China bought 794,700 tonnes w...

Brazil China Prices & Markets

1 jul 2026

Raphael Carmo · Managing Partner, 4D World

Europe's wet-food boom, in concrete

Key Takeaways ▸ Purina's CHF 520m Mantova plant and VAFO's Poland expansion point the same way. ▸ New premium-wet capacity lands across 2027-2029, cat-led and pouch-focused. ▸ Dry kibble is built on m...

Europe Pet Food Prices & Markets

30 jun 2026

Raphael Carmo · Managing Partner, 4D World

The 10-year protein forecast

Key Takeaways ▸ The OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2026-2035 projects global meat output up 13% by 2035. ▸ Most of the extra output comes from productivity and intensification, not larger herds. ▸ Bett...

Food Prices & Markets Sustainability

29 jun 2026

Raphael Carmo · Managing Partner, 4D World

The circular protein economy: nothing wasted

Key Takeaways ▸ US renderers collect roughly 56 billion pounds of raw material a year. ▸ They convert it into about 22 billion pounds of fats and proteins. ▸ US rendering is roughly a $10 billion a ye...

Food Rendering Sustainability

28 jun 2026

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