The objectives of this research were to analyse data on the international market of frozen boneless beef and to classify its participants into groups according to their trade relationships, identifying the main factors that influence the preference of a country to beef from a determined supplier country. International beef trade is composed of two markets: in one of them, the relationships between supplier and client depend on the lowest price, and Brazil is found in favorable conditions; and the other, the relationships are preferably based on the sanitary quality of the herd and traceability systems recognized by the purchaser, to which Brazilian participation is low.
bovine spongiform encephalopaty (BSE); cluster analysis; data mining; foot and mouth disease; international trade beef
