National cattle slaughter in Australia continued to expand, reaching its highest weekly level since 2015, while sheep and lamb supply tightened sharply in the lead-up to Easter, MLA said.

The FAO Meat Price Index averaged 127.7 points in March, up 1.2 points (1%) from February and 9.4 points (8%) above its level a year earlier. The increase was mainly driven by higher pork prices, along with a modest rise in beef quotations, while sheep and poultry prices declined.

Compared to the prior test, import prices were mostly firm to higher, with some instances moderately higher for immediate delivery. Trading activity remained slow, while South American product continued to move at a moderate to active pace.

US packer buyers closed last week actively, adding inventory at the upper end of recent price ranges, while cattle producers now look to extend the gains of the past two weeks. According to The AG Center, despite feedlot inventories tightening, record-high live weights are partially offsetting the decline in numbers, without implying an oversupply of finished cattle. At the same time, producers continue to struggle to lower breakeven levels amid high replacement costs.

JBS announced the issuance of US$ 2 billion in international bonds through its subsidiaries JBS USA Food Company Holdings and JBS USA Foods Group Holdings. The transaction was structured in two tranches: US$ 1.25 billion maturing in 2037 with a 5.625% coupon, and US$ 750 million maturing in 2057 with a 6.4% rate.

Russia, which at the beginning of the decade competed with Chile for the top spot as a destination for Paraguayan beef, has lost almost all relevance.

In line with the sharp decline in production at export plants, Paraguay’s beef exports dropped significantly in the first quarter of the year.

Cattle slaughter totaled 159,963 head in March, down 2% from the same month last year and virtually unchanged from February. In the first quarter, slaughter reached 468 thousand head, a 20% decline compared to the same period last year, and the lowest level for that quarter since 2022.

Only three plants processed sheep last week, and just one of them—Oferan—did so at significant volumes. INAC reported that 1,374 sheep were slaughtered in the week ending April 4, of which 607 were lambs.

As is typically the case, activity in the meatpacking industry during Easter week was reduced, but the decline was significantly greater than in previous years.

Unlike the Hilton quota, the new 99,000-ton carcass weight beef quota—under the EU–Mercosur trade agreement—will be applied on a calendar-year basis rather than an agricultural year. This was confirmed by Vice Foreign Minister Valeria Csukasi in an interview with Oriental Agropecuaria 770 AM this Monday.

JBS inaugurated on April 1 its new advanced biotechnology laboratory, JBS Biotech, in Florianópolis, aimed at developing functional and alternative proteins through applied science. The 4,000 m² complex, with more than 20 laboratories, is designed to cover the full innovation process, from molecular biology to industrial validation.

The first shipment of bone-in beef from Rio Grande do Sul to Chile, completed on March 27, marks a turning point for the state’s cattle sector. According to Antonia Scalzilli, this development reflects the economic and strategic value of the state’s foot-and-mouth disease-free status without vaccination, granted by the World Organization for Animal Health.

Despite uncertainty and the impacts of the conflict in the Middle East, Brazil’s cattle market remained firm throughout March. According to Cepea, finished male prices started the month at high levels, sustaining February values, supported by limited availability of market-ready cattle and active external demand.

A livestock disease outbreak in Russia is raising international concern due to its potential scale and nature. Initially linked to cases of pasteurellosis in Siberia, the episode is showing signs of spreading westward, while doubts are increasing as to whether it could in fact be foot-and-mouth disease.

The news agency Reuters reported that China has recorded 219 cases of foot-and-mouth disease in cattle in Gansu and Sinkiang provinces, located in the northwest of the country, bordering Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Russia, among others.

Uruguayan beef exports in the first quarter of 2026 totaled 90.8 thousand tons at an average value of US$ 7,557 per ton shipment weight, according to Customs export request data. Volume declined 6% year-on-year, while the average value increased by nearly 20%.

The rise in export prices to China following the announcement of safeguard measures to protect domestic production was fully reflected in March export values.

Although the United States remains the main destination for Uruguay’s frozen boneless beef exports, volumes declined 10% year-on-year in the first quarter to 29,330 tons.

Uruguayan beef exports to the European Union moved away from the peaks seen in 2025 and started the year with significantly lower volumes, particularly in frozen shipments.