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251017.mbx T R O U B L E D C O M P A N Y R E P O R T E R L A T I N A M E R I C A Friday, October 17, 2025, Vol. 26, No. 208 Headlines B R A Z I L BRAZIL: Beef Exports to China Jump 38% in Sept. Amid US Tariffs JBS SA: Brazil Repeals Fine Over Cattle Purchases in the Amazon H A I T I HAITI: IDB OKs $100MM Grant to Boosts Access to Health Services J A M A I C A JAMAICA: NIR Up by US$44M at the End of September M E X I C O KOSMOS ENERGY: Mexican Unit Secures $250M Senior Secured Term Loan T R I N I D A D A N D T O B A G O TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Do Not Raise Fuel Prices, Locals Tell Tancoo - - - - - =========== B R A Z I L =========== BRAZIL: Beef Exports to China Jump 38% in Sept. Amid US Tariffs --------------------------------------------------------------- Roberto Samora at Reuters reports that Brazil's beef exports to China rose 38.3% in September from a year earlier, reaching 187,340 tonnes, industry group Abrafrigo said, helping push total monthly exports to a record high. China is the largest market for Brazilian beef, and has increased purchases as part of its broader strategy to avoid agricultural goods from the United States amid an ongoing trade dispute. Global demand for beef has helped Brazil offset the impact of U.S. tariffs on its exports, Abrafrigo said, according to Reuters. In August, the U.S. imposed a 50% tariff on shipments of several Brazilian goods, including beef, which already had a 26.4% tax levy, the report notes. Latin America's largest economy has been expanding exports to both new and traditional markets amid a global trade reshuffle triggered by U.S. tariffs, with similar trends also seen in soybean exports, which also reached record volumes, the report relays. Total beef exports, including fresh and processed meat, edible offal, and tallow, generated $1.92 billion in revenue in September, with volumes reaching 373,867 tonnes, up 49% in value and 17% in volume year-on-year, the report notes. "This strong performance came in the second month of additional tariffs imposed by the U.S. on Brazilian products, showing the sector's resilience and ability to seize new commercial opportunities," Abrafrigo said, the report discloses. Exports to the U.S., Brazil's second-largest beef market year-to-date, fell 41% in September to $102.9 million, the report says. The European Union became the second-largest destination last month, led by Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain, the report relays. EU purchases totaled $131.7 million, up 106% from a year earlier, the report notes. Abrafrigo said 130 countries increased purchases of Brazilian beef this year, while 48 reduced them, the report adds. About Brazil Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world and third largest in the Americas. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won the 2022 Brazilian general election. He was sworn in on January 1, 2023, as the 39th president of Brazil, succeeding Jair Bolsonaro. In October 2024, Moody's Ratings upgraded the Government of Brazil's long-term issuer and senior unsecured bond ratings to Ba1 from Ba2, the senior unsecured shelf rating to (P)Ba1 from (P)Ba2; and maintained the positive outlook. S&P Global Ratings raised on Dec. 19, 2023, its long-term global scale ratings on Brazil to 'BB' from 'BB-'. Fitch Ratings affirmed on Dec. 15, 2023, Brazil's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB' with a Stable Outlook. DBRS' credit rating for Brazil was last reported at BB with stable outlook at July 2023. JBS SA: Brazil Repeals Fine Over Cattle Purchases in the Amazon --------------------------------------------------------------- Fabiano Maisonnave at Bloomberg News reports that a Brazilian state in the Amazon ignored the advice of its own environmental legal team and revoked a fine against JBS NV, the world's largest meatpacker, that stemmed from the company's purchase of cattle raised in one of the rainforest's most-destroyed reserves. The attorney general in the state of Rondonia ruled last month that the fine was inappropriate because JBS bought the cows before 2022 when legislation was amended to prohibit sourcing cattle from illegally deforested conservation areas, according to state administrative records seen by Bloomberg News. Bloomberg News discloses that the decision risks unraveling four years of work by state inspectors and prosecutors, who've fined and sued slaughterhouses for purchasing thousands of cattle from farms inside the Jaci-Parana reserve. Created in 1996, Jaci-Paraná was intended for sustainable use by rubber tappers and Brazil nut collectors, Bloomberg News discloses. Once blanketed by rainforest, it now has a grassland area roughly the size of Greater London, where more than 200,000 cattle graze, Bloomberg News says. "Holding supply-chain links accountable for illegal deforestation is essential to stopping destruction," said Jair Schmitt, head of environmental protection at Brazil's federal environmental agency, known as Ibama, which also has fined meatpackers, in an interview, speaking generally about the subject, Bloomberg News relays. In all, Rondonia's Attorney General's Office has filed about 50 lawsuits against beef processors, including industry giants JBS, MBRF Global Foods SA and Minerva SA, for allegedly acquiring thousands of cattle from ranches inside the reserve between 2017 and 2021, Bloomberg News recalls. The legal challenges are seeking a combined $130 million to help restore some of the 150,000 hectares (370,000 acres) of rainforest cleared for pasture and also to strengthen environmental law enforcement, according to court papers, Bloomberg News notes. In the recent JBS case, the company said it couldn't be held responsible for the purchase of 55 cattle made in 2017 because it was five years before the local legislation was amended, among other factors, Bloomberg News relays. Bloomberg News says that JBS's arguments were initially rejected by Aparício Paixão Ribeiro Júnior, environmental director in Rondonia's Attorney General's Office. In an Aug. 7 filing, he agreed with the finding of his colleagues who filed the lawsuits stating that pre-2022 legislation still applied and that Brazilian law holds accountable not only those who cause environmental damage but also those who profit from it, Bloomberg News notes. Three weeks later, however, a second opinion signed by his superior, Attorney General Thiago Alencar, said the opposite and sided with JBS, Bloomberg News relays. Before 2022, he wrote in a legal opinion that the legislation only penalized direct actions against vegetation, not indirect conduct such as buying livestock, Bloomberg News discloses. The environmental office then decided on Sept. 8 to annul a JBS fine totaling $388,000, Bloomberg News relays. JBS said in a statement that the rancher who sold the company the 55 cattle from inside the reserve supplied false geographic coordinates and added that the company has since taken steps to block the rancher from selling to its plants, Bloomberg News relates. JBS still faces five lawsuits for allegedly buying cattle raised in Jaci-Paraná, where it's also been fined 11 times, court records show, Bloomberg News discloses. Last month's JBS decision highlights the challenge of enforcing penalties in the beef industry, which is the leading driver of deforestation, Bloomberg News recalls. Every fine filed by Rondonia that followed investigations from 2021 to 2023 uses a standard filing format, meaning the decision on JBS sets a precedent for releasing other companies from similar penalties, said state public prosecutor Pablo Viscardi, who's the acting coordinator of the Prosecutor's Office's environmental section, Bloomberg News says. Viscardi's office operates independently from the State Attorney General. "The ruling also weakens the lawsuits, since they're all based on the infraction notices, although it's not enough to dismiss them, as there are other arguments supporting it," he added. Rondonia's State Public Prosecutor's Office, an independent body that represents the public in legal cases, can't appeal the administrative decision to annul JBS's fine, Bloomberg News notes. However, it said it will continue to support the state's attorney office in the ongoing lawsuits against slaughterhouses and ranchers, Bloomberg News says. MBRF Global Foods and Minerva declined to comment on the lawsuits but said they maintain rigorous cattle-tracking practices, Bloomberg News discloses. In total, 10 slaughterhouses have been fined and sued for acquiring cattle from Jaci-Paraná, Bloomberg News relays. The largest buyers, Distriboi and Frigorífico Irmãos Gonçalves (Frigon), have been found guilty in a lower court ruling. None of them returned requests for comment. About JBS SA JBS S.A. is a Brazilian company that is a large meat processing enterprise, producing factory processed beef, chicken, salmon, pork, and also selling by-products from the processing of these meats. It is headquartered in Sao Paulo. It was founded in 1953 in Anapolis, Goias. As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America in August 2021, S&P Global Ratings revised the global scale outlook on JBS S.A. (JBS) and its fully owned subsidiary JBS USA Lux S.A. (JBS USA) to positive from stable and affirmed its 'BB+' issuer credit rating. The recovery expectations remain unchanged, and S&P affirmed the 'BB+' ratings on the senior unsecured notes and the 'BBB' ratings on the secured term loans. ========= H A I T I ========= HAITI: IDB OKs $100MM Grant to Boosts Access to Health Services --------------------------------------------------------------- The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved a $100 million grant to help Haiti rebuild essential health services in its three northern departments to save lives and prevent disabilities. The operation, which has been approved by the IDB's Board of Executive Directors, will contribute to improving the health system, conduct key health surveys and analyses for health management, and advance the digitalization of health care, using the information to develop a medium-term investment master plan. The initiative will also build on interventions carried out since 2022 through IDB-supported social protection operations and will directly support the delivery of essential services aimed at preventing and treating prevalent noncommunicable diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension, as well as infectious diseases including cholera, tuberculosis, malaria, HIV, and human papillomavirus. To help empower underserved groups, such as internally displaced people, return migrants, vulnerable women, and people with disabilities, the program will develop care protocols that reflect their preferences. The greater part of the grant resources will go toward strengthening health infrastructure to enhance the response capacity of the network of facilities serving priority communities. This will be the first stage of a longer-term commitment to rebuild the public health network's response capacity, beginning with the greater northern region. This grant will be disbursed and implemented over 84 months. The project is expected to directly benefit 750,000 people in specific communities, starting in the country's three northern departments. ============= J A M A I C A ============= JAMAICA: NIR Up by US$44M at the End of September ------------------------------------------------- RJR News reports that the country's Net International Reserves (which is the difference between its foreign assets and its foreign liabilities) climbed by US$44 million to US$6.195 billion at the end of September from US$6.151 billion at the end of August this year. This was due to a US$37.6 million spike in the country's foreign assets to US$6.22 billion at the end of September from US$6.18 billion at the end of August of this year, according to RJR News. Meanwhile, the country's foreign liabilities fell to US$22.7million at the end of September from US$29.1 million at the end of August this year, the report notes. About Jamaica Jamaica is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Jamaica is an upper-middle income country with an economy heavily dependent on tourism. Other major sectors of the Jamaican economy include agriculture, mining, manufacturing, petroleum refining, financial and insurance services. On Feb. 21, 2025, Fitch Ratings affirmed Jamaica's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB-', with a positive rating outlook. In October 2023, Moody's upgraded the Government of Jamaica's long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings to B1 from B2, and senior unsecured shelf rating to (P)B1 from (P)B2. The outlook has been changed to positive from stable. In September 2024, S&P affirmed 'BB-/B' longterm foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Jamaica and revised outlook to positive. =========== M E X I C O =========== KOSMOS ENERGY: Mexican Unit Secures $250M Senior Secured Term Loan ------------------------------------------------------------------ Kosmos Energy Ltd. disclosed in a Form 8-K Report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that its wholly owned subsidiary, Kosmos Energy Gulf of Mexico Operations, LLC, and certain of Borrower's Gulf of America related affiliates entered into a Senior Secured Term Loan Credit Agreement with Shell Trading (US) Company and Ankura Trust Company, LLC, as administrative agent and collateral agent. The following is a summary of the key terms of the Credit Agreement and related agreements: * Amounts: The Credit Agreement provides for a term loan facility that is structured in two tranches, with the first tranche consisting of a 4-year term loan in an aggregate principal amount of $150,000,000, to be funded this month, and a second tranche comprising commitments to lend up to an additional $100,000,000, available for drawing until April 1, 2026. * Use of Proceeds: The Borrower intends to use the proceeds from the Term Loan Facility to fund the redemption or repayment of the Company's outstanding 7.125% senior notes due 2026. Thereafter, the Borrower may use any available proceeds from the Term Loan Facility for providing working capital and funding general operating expenses of the Borrower. * Interest: Interest on outstanding loans under the Term Loan Facility is payable quarterly in arrears at a rate per annum equal to the Term SOFR for such Interest Period plus the applicable rate of 3.75% per annum. * Guarantee: The Borrower's obligations under the Term Loan Facility are guaranteed by the Guarantors. Each Guarantor has agreed to guarantee the obligations of each other Loan Party and to grant to the Agent, for the benefit of the secured parties, first priority liens on certain collateral. * Security: Subject to certain exceptions, the obligations of the Loan Parties under the Term Loan Facility are secured by first priority liens on certain assets of the Loan Parties, including all Gulf of America Assets (as defined in the Credit Agreement) owned by the Loan Parties or their respective subsidiaries. * Covenants: The Credit Agreement contains customary affirmative and negative covenants, including covenants that affect the ability of the Loan Parties and their respective subsidiaries to incur additional indebtedness, create liens, merge, dispose of assets, and make distributions, dividends, investments or capital expenditures, among other things. * Events of Default: The Credit Agreement includes certain customary representations and warranties, indemnities and events of default that, subject to certain materiality thresholds and grace periods, arise as a result of a payment default, failure to comply with covenants, material inaccuracy of representation or warranty, and certain bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings. If there is an event of default, the Lender may declare all or any portion of the outstanding indebtedness to be immediately due and payable and exercise any rights they might have (including against the collateral). The foregoing description of the Credit Agreement is not complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the text of the Credit Agreement. A copy of the Credit Agreement will be filed as an exhibit to Kosmos Energy's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2025. About Kosmos Energy Ltd. Kosmos Energy Ltd. is a Dallas, Texas based publicly traded exploration and production company with the main producing assets offshore West Africa, as well as assets in the US Gulf of America. As of June 30, 2025, the Company had $5.2 billion in total assets, $4.2 billion in total liabilities, and $1 billion in total stockholders' equity. * * * In June 2025, S&P Global Ratings lowered its issuer credit rating two notches to 'CCC+' from 'B' on Kosmos Energy Ltd. S&P said, "At the same time, we lowered our issue-level rating on Kosmos' unsecured debt to 'CCC' from 'B' and revised our recovery rating to '5' from '4', due to a lower estimated valuation at our recovery price assumptions. The '5' recovery rating indicates our expectation for modest (10%-30%; rounded estimate: 15%) recovery of principal to creditors in the event of a payment default. The negative outlook reflects the likelihood that we could lower the rating if the company is unable to refinance its near-term maturities in a timely and favorable manner or if liquidity deteriorates further." ===================================== T R I N I D A D A N D T O B A G O ===================================== TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: Do Not Raise Fuel Prices, Locals Tell Tancoo --------------------------------------------------------------- Kevon Felmine at Trinidad and Tobago Guardian reports that with several increases in the price of fuel over the past decade in Trinidad and Tobago, taxi drivers, motorists, commuters and businesses are anxious that fuel prices remain unchanged following Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo's first national budget presentation. Tancoo has been notably guarded in his recent remarks about fuel prices and the subsidy, offering no assurance when asked directly whether they would rise, according to Trinidad and Tobago Guardian. However, he hinted that not everyone would be "the happiest of the happy" after the budget, and suggested that public dissatisfaction could be seen as "unpatriotic," citing the difficult economic conditions inherited from the previous administration, the report notes. Taxi drivers warn that any tampering with the subsidy will inevitably lead to higher fares, the report relays. Commuters say they are already struggling to meet daily expenses, especially after several fare increases since the COVID-19 pandemic, the report says. Fuel prices were last raised in September 2022, marking the sixth increase in seven years under the former government, the report discloses. As of October 2025, super gasoline sells at $6.97 per litre, premium gasoline at $7.75, and diesel at $4.41, the report relays. These prices have remained unchanged since 2022, the report discloses. San Fernando to Chaguanas taxi driver Trevor Salvary said an increase in the price of fuel would cripple his operations, given already high food prices. He urged the government to keep the subsidy in place, the report says. He warned that commuters would ultimately bear the burden, noting that if wages remained stagnant, workers would suffer most, the report relays. Vice president of the Gasparillo Taxi Drivers Association, Ricardo Guy, shared the view, saying drivers would have no choice but to adjust fares if fuel prices rise, the report notes. He recalled three fare fluctuations during the COVID-19 pandemic due to public health restrictions, which saw prices increases by between $9 to $15, the report says. He said commuters would again be the ones most affected, as all other costs continue to rise, the report discloses. The report notes that Guy believes one solution lies in converting vehicles to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). He urged the government to revive the National Gas Company's "Switch and Save" campaign, which once fully funded conversion costs for public transport operators. "That is a good thing when it comes to taxis, but not everybody has that. I wish CNG could come back, free for taxis. In the early days, I heard you were getting free. Now you have to pay for it," Guy said. Guy, who already owns a CNG-powered vehicle, said it performs well and is far cheaper to refill, the report relays. For commuters, even the thought of higher fuel prices bring anxiety, the report notes. La Romaine resident Josiah Francois said he spends $38 daily travelling from home to work in Point Lisas, almost $760 per month, the report discloses. He said higher fares would mean less disposable income, and hopes fuel prices go down instead, the report relays. Supermarket worker Adrian Lynch said current fuel prices are already stretching his budget, the report relates. Travelling between Gasparillo and San Fernando costs him $24 daily, more than $200 each week, the report notes. Business Community Cautions Against Hike President of the Greater San Fernando Chamber of Commerce, Kiran Singh, said now may not be the right time to increase fuel prices, as several adjustments in recent years have already raised transportation costs, the report relays. He said higher fuel prices and limited wage growth have reduced disposable income thereby stifling commercial activity, the report discloses. He noted that stable fuel prices are critical for businesses since transport costs affect every level of trade: from ports to warehouses and storefronts. Companies must then decide whether to absorb the additional cost or pass it on to consumers, the report says. "We have to be very careful in this current economy in terms of how certain prices are adjusted and affect the factors of production that go into the overall productivity of the country. We remain wary and hopeful that it will be taken into consideration while the minister is preparing to present the budget," Singh said, the report relays. Over the last decade, T&T spent approximately $20 billion on fuel subsidies, the report notes. Singh said this high expenditure reflects public consumption, but added that the solution lies in improving the efficiency and reach of public transport systems, such as the Public Transport Service Corporation and the Water Taxi Service, the report relays. He proposed better scheduling, additional routes, enhanced security, digital ticketing, and park-and-ride hubs to encourage motorists to leave their vehicles at home, the report discloses. Singh also recommended expanding the Water Taxi service to Point Fortin, with weekend and holiday sailings to ease traffic and reduce fuel demand, the report adds. ********* S U B S C R I P T I O N I N F O R M A T I O N Troubled Company Reporter-Latin America is a daily newsletter co-published by Bankruptcy Creditors' Service, Inc., Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, USA, and Beard Group, Inc., Washington, D.C., USA, Marites O. Claro, Joy A. Agravante, Rousel Elaine T. Fernandez, Julie Anne L. Toledo, Ivy B. Magdadaro, and Peter A. Chapman, Editors. Copyright 2025. All rights reserved. ISSN 1529-2746. This material is copyrighted and any commercial use, resale or publication in any form (including e-mail forwarding, electronic re-mailing and photocopying) is strictly prohibited without prior written permission of the publishers. Information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but is not guaranteed. The TCR Latin America subscription rate is US$775 per half-year, delivered via e-mail. Additional e-mail subscriptions for members of the same firm for the term of the initial subscription or balance thereof are US$25 each. For subscription information, contact Peter A. Chapman at 215-945-7000. . * * * End of Transmission * * *