Brazilian poultry deliveries helped protect food supplies for the Lebanese Armed Forces after Israeli attacks disrupted local suppliers in 2024, according to a diplomatic cable. (Foto: Instagram)
Brazil’s agribusiness moved closer to Lebanon’s military during the 2024 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, helping protect food supplies for the Lebanese Armed Forces. Brazilian exports to Lebanon have traditionally focused on agricultural products, especially meat. When Israeli attacks intensified, an emergency shipment from Brazilian meatpacker JBS helped prevent disruptions to military food supplies, according to a Lebanese military official.
Brig. Gen. Georges Khoury, who heads the Lebanese Armed Forces’ food supply and storage directorate, discussed cooperation with Brazilian food companies during a visit to Brazil’s Embassy in Beirut in early 2025. A diplomatic cable summarizing the meeting said Khoury emphasized that Lebanon sought to use domestic suppliers but that diversifying suppliers to include Brazilian companies had helped protect the military’s supply chain.
The cable said Lebanese poultry farms that supplied chicken to the armed forces canceled contracts after Israeli forces destroyed their facilities in 2024. Without deliveries from a Brazilian poultry company that also held a contract, the food security of military personnel would have been at risk, the cable said. The account was signed by Ambassador Tarcísio Costa and circulated to other Brazilian diplomatic missions in February 2025.
The cable is part of a collection of more than 11,000 Brazilian diplomatic communications obtained by the transparency group Fiquem Sabendo through Brazil’s Access to Information Law. After the emergency supply arrangement, Khoury asked the Brazilian Embassy in Beirut to help connect the military with Brazilian producers of frozen fish and rice, which he described as key ingredients in troops’ diets. The requests were referred to ApexBrasil, Brazil’s trade and investment promotion agency.
The fighting intensified after Israel and Hezbollah began exchanging attacks in 2023, following the start of the Gaza war, which began after Hamas attacked Israel. Hezbollah said its attacks were in solidarity with Hamas and Palestinians. In 2024, Israel expanded its military operations in Lebanon; Hezbollah’s former secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah was killed, and Israeli forces also launched a ground invasion. A ceasefire took effect in November 2024, but the truce was not fully respected by either side, according to the report. A trilateral agreement signed by Israel, Lebanon, and the United States in June 2026 called for Israeli troops to withdraw from Lebanese territory and Hezbollah to disarm. Hezbollah has rejected disarmament, and Israeli attacks have continued while the dispute remains unresolved.
Trade between Brazil and Lebanon reached a record $455.1 million in 2024, or about 2.5 billion Brazilian reais, according to the report. Brazilian exports accounted for $445 million, while imports of Lebanese goods totaled $10.2 million. The total was 32.5% higher than the $318.3 million in trade recorded in 2023 and marked the first time bilateral trade exceeded $400 million. São Paulo-based Minerva Foods was a significant exporter; an estimated $100 million of Brazil’s exports consisted of animal protein shipments produced by the company.
