The 750,000-square-kilometre area of the Amazon that has been deforested for cattle ranching – a land mass twice the size of Germany – contributes only 14.5% of the total value of Brazilian agricultural products. São Paulo state produces almost the same value with a quarter of the farmland.

The Amazonian areas were most often deforested illegally, with around 65% used for low-productivity pasture, which counts less than one head of cattle per hectare, according to the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM).