The Global Livestock Report

Beef exports fell again in December because of tight cattle supplies and high livestock prices, which led to reduced slaughter at some export plants and shutdowns at others during the two holiday weeks at year-end.

Argentina closed 2025 with exports of 713,364 tons of fresh and frozen beef (product weight, equivalent to 852,000 tons bone-in) for a record value of US$ 3.884 billion.

China, Argentina’s main beef destination, reduced its purchases in 2025. While shipments of bone-in beef and bones to China reached a record 185,362 tons, exports of boneless beef totaled 310,704 tons, the lowest volume since 2018.

Europe, Israel and the United States—Argentina’s second, third and fourth-largest beef destinations—recorded all-time high purchases in 2025.

Exports of beef offal and industrialized beef products reached 10,725 tons in December 2025, worth US$ 25.5 million. For the full year, shipments totaled 122,822 tons (1.6% less than in 2024) for US$ 255.6 million (+27.5% year on year).

After overcoming the main political obstacles following more than two decades of negotiations, the EU–Mercosur agreement now faces an additional delay that complicates its entry into force.