A meat lobby in Brazil’s Parana state is calling for “urgent” measures to support the beef industry after one of the largest beef processing plants in the state announced it would be closing and shedding hundreds of jobs.

The lobby, called Sindicarnes-PR, which represents beef and pork companies, said that the closure of privately owned beefpacker Big Boi is the latest blow to an industry that has been struggling for years due to higher costs, dwindling cattle supplies, weak domestic demand and the possibility of a higher tax burden.

Sindicarnes-PR also cited that the state’s slaughtering volumes have dropped from 835,000 cattle in 2019 to 695,000 in 2021, a 17% decrease.

While the beef industry is struggling, Parana continues to be a prominent pork and chicken processor with companies like BRF SA running large facilities in the state.