The objectives of this research were to analyze the profitability of finishing beef cattle in feedlot, and to identify the components that had a greater influence upon the final costs of the activity. Data were analyzed from a production system of beef cattle located in the West of Minas Gerais state, Brazil, in which 4,516 animals were confined from April to December 2003. The electronic data processing as well as the profitability analysis of the production system were made by the electronic spreadsheet (Microsoft Excel). The component items of the effective operational cost that had a greater influence on the costs of the feedlot business were in decreasing order, the purchase of the animals, feeding, different expenses, labor, health and taxes. The feedlot of the production system under study reached a positive final result, pointing out the business has conditions to go on in a long term, and to capitalize.
economical analysis; beef cattle; production cost
