SAO PAULO, Nov 27 (Reuters) - An estimated 7.030 million head of cattle in 2023 will have been processed after spending 90 days in feedlots, a survey of Brazil's cattle market by Dutch nutrition company DSM Firmenich showed on Monday.

The projection was largely steady from 2022's 7.048 million head of cattle processed after passing through feedlots.

Cattle finished after passing through feedlots already represents around 25% of total animals slaughtered in Brazil, up from between 8% and 10% in recent years, DSM executives said.

Use of confinement facilities by Brazilian ranchers has been growing as they seek more efficient ways to raise and finish livestock.

In 2024, more Brazilian cattle should pass through confinement facilities than in 2023, DSM said without giving an exact estimate.

DSM provides a range of solutions to livestock farmers, including a feed additive called Bovaer designed to reduce methane emissions from dairy cattle by 30% and up to 45% for beef cattle.

Methane

, a natural byproduct of digestion in cows and other ruminants, is released into the atmosphere through burping and breathing and

accounts for 20%

of global greenhouse gases emissions.

In Brazil, the world's biggest beef exporter, DSM's Bovaer product faces challenges as most of the cattle graze freely in pastures and are not fed as often as in feedlots, executives said.

DSM Manager Fernanda Nogueira said the company is developing a molecule that cows would ingest less frequently. The aim is to achieve similar methane-reduction levels for animals raised in pastures or in feedlots.

Brazil, which boasts the world's largest commercial cattle herd and is the second biggest beef producer after the U.S., has 234.4 million head of cattle, according to the government's census bureau IBGE.

In 2015, Brazilian cattle passing through feedlots totaled 4.75 million head, according to DSM calculations. The number fell in the following year to 3.75 million head, but rose steadily through 2022, DSM said. (Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by David Gregorio and Marguerita Choy)