According to data from the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), in January the Philippines imported 138,000 tons of meat, 48,000 tons more than in January 2024.

Local pork production remains insufficient, which creates the need for imports, according to the Meat Importers and Traders Association (MITA). As a result, pork imports grew by 65%, reaching 70,449 tons.

Average swine prices in China during 2024 were higher than in 2023, while production costs were lower, enabling higher profits across the swine breeding industry, said the USDA GAIN report about pork projections in China. Some swine producers started to expand swine production by restocking more sows. However, the expansion was slower than USDA estimated in the last annual report.

Slovakia has confirmed its first cases of foot-and-mouth disease in more than 50 years, as announced on Friday the 21st by Agriculture Minister Richard Takáč to media outlets including the Denník N news portal. Outbreaks of the disease were detected at three properties in the south of the country, near the border with Hungary.

Turkey’s local currency, as well as its stocks and government bonds, plummeted after authorities detained the main political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on alleged corruption charges—an action the opposition called “an attempted coup.”

Cattle slaughter saw little change. In the week ending March 22, according to information from INAC, 45,883 cattle were slaughtered, virtually unchanged from the previous week and less than 2% above the same week last year.

On March 19, Paraguay’s National Animal Health and Quality Service (Senacsa) announced in an official statement the opening of Israel’s market to Paraguayan sheep meat. It reported that the sanitary requirements had been agreed upon by both parties and that a Paraguayan establishment was authorized to export this product.

At an event held at the Sociedad Elías Regules in Montevideo, the shipping and container company ONE presented new technology called “Container +,” which is already available in most of the company’s containers.

After two setbacks—one in October and another in December 2024—Minerva once again requested authorization in February of this year to finalize the purchase of three additional plants in Uruguay. In remarks to AgFeed, Edison Ticle, Chief Financial Officer and Investor Relations Officer at Minerva Foods, expressed his confidence that the new transaction would be approved. The expectation is a response by July “in the worst-case scenario. We have submitted a new proposal because we are fairly certain it satisfies the Uruguayan authorities.

The Brazilian government reported that during a visit by the Minister of Agriculture of Malaysia’s Sarawak State to Brazil, an International Health Certificate (CSI) model for poultry and beef exports was agreed upon.

JBS will take over The Vegetarian Burger, a Dutch plant-based meat company belonging to Unilever. The acquisition was carried out through its subsidiary Vivera, according to Estadão. The deal’s value was not disclosed, and the agreement is expected to be finalized in September. Unilever, which opted to sell the business to streamline its portfolio, stated that The Vegetarian Burger has seen double-digit growth since its 2018 purchase.

Marfrig Global Foods announced the acquisition of feedlot and farming units formerly operated by MFG Agropecuária Ltda., a company controlled by Marfrig’s principal shareholders. The transaction, valued at R$48 million, took place through a Marfrig subsidiary and is part of the company’s strategic plan to ensure raw material supply and enhance efficiency at its industrial operations.

With favorable market conditions for South American beef exports and expectations regarding returns from the assets acquired from Marfrig, Minerva aims to generate between R$1 billion and R$2 billion in free cash this year (about US$425 million). “This will be used to reduce debt,” said CFO and Investor Relations Officer Edison Ticle in a conference call with analysts last Thursday. He highlighted that the company has repurchased bonds, which helped lower both gross and net debt.

Minerva Foods reported a loss of R$1.567 billion (about US$275 million) in the fourth quarter of 2024. Following the announcement, the company’s shares closed up 8.23% on Thursday, at R$6.05. During trading, the stock reached a high of 11.99% gains, according to Money Times.

Goldman Sachs emphasized that Minerva recorded a strong quarter, surpassing the Bloomberg consensus by 21% in terms of EBITDA, with Brazil once again the main driver of the positive surprise.

Minerva Foods posted a loss of R$1.567 billion (around US$274 million) in the fourth quarter of 2024 (4Q24), compared to a negative net result of R$19.8 million in 4Q23.

Brazil exported 45,817 tons of beef in the third week of March at an average FOB value of US$4,912 per ton, according to data released by the Foreign Trade Secretariat (Secex). The daily export pace, at 9,163 tons, was the lowest since the last week of January.

Minister of Agriculture and Livestock (Mapa) Carlos Fávaro projects that Brazil should have “a few dozen” additional beef packing plants authorized to export to China in 2025. The statement was made last week during a public hearing before the Senate Agriculture Committee, which invited the minister to present the ministry’s plans for the next two years.

Uruguay completed its first export of live cattle to Azerbaijan, a market that was opened in 2016 but had not yet received any shipments. The transaction was carried out by the company Gadoville, which also included around 1,700 Holstein heifers and pregnant Aberdeen Angus heifers for Turkey.

Argentine beef exports reached 50,080 tons (product weight) in February, according to INDEC. This volume is 7.2% higher than the previous month but 27.5% lower than in February 2024.

China imported 470,000 metric tons (shipped weight) of beef in the first two months of 2025, according to Customs data released by OIG+X. This volume contracted by 11% compared to the same period in 2024. However, a rise in the average import value meant that the total value drop was just 2.4%, to US$1.742 billion.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) in the United States argues that the US-Australia Free Trade Agreement unfairly benefits Australian beef producers, who have enjoyed open access to the US market for two decades. Meanwhile, fresh US beef remains banned in Australia due to what the NCBA calls excessive biosecurity barriers. In the last 20 years, while Australia exported beef products to the USA for US$ 28.7 billion, the USA sold just beef cooked products for US$ 31 million.

Cattle prices have risen over the past week amid plentiful rainfall that relieved many water sources in the Chaco region. In fact, a major Paraguayan plant was unable to slaughter for two days because closed roads made it impossible to transport cattle.

Prices for export cattle remained firm. Steers of British breeds solidified at the lower end and hover around Ar$5,000–5,100 per kilo on the hook, while Zebu crossbreds continue at Ar$4,900–5,000.

The government published Resolution 180/2025 in the Official Gazette, changing the sanitary conditions for admitting meat with or without bone, meat products, and reproductive material into Patagonia (a region recognized as foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) free without vaccination) from the north of the country (which vaccinates).

In a joint statement following the meeting between the Argentine and Chinese delegations, it was announced that Argentine poultry exports are once again authorized for China, after two years of closure due to the 2023 avian influenza outbreak.

Although the greatest expectation within Argentina’s beef chain regarding China is the opening of that market to offal, this week’s visit by a delegation from the Asian country has so far yielded good news only for bovine gallstones.

Although the sheep meat market currently involves only two plants, it remains firm due to very limited supply. Lambs are trading at US$4.30, and mutton around US$3.60 per kilo, provided the carcasses are under 24 kg.

The finished cattle market remains very firm, driven by keen demand and practically ideal forage conditions at the start of autumn. However, market operators consulted by WBR agreed that there is slightly more supply available, reflected in a more balanced market and somewhat longer bookings.

In February, the value generated by selling all products from a Type Steer 2.0 after industrial processing was US$1,613 per head, 0.4% higher than January’s figure in dollars (+US$6). The indicator rose by 13% compared to the same month last year (+US$183) and reached its highest level since September 2022 (US$1,718).

Most cattle markets in Brazil held stable prices for finished males compared to the previous week, indicating that the downward trend observed in previous weeks has started to wane. This is also reflected by a shortening of booking times and matches a second consecutive week of rising prices for live cattle (boi gordo) in the B3 futures market.

The sharp rise in beef production last year allowed both exports and domestic consumption to reach record levels. Based on Secex data, Brazil exported the equivalent of 3.55 million tons carcass weight, an annual increase of 25%.

The expansion of animal protein production remained strong in 2024. According to detailed data released yesterday by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (Ibge), the slaughter of cattle, pigs, and chickens reached all-time highs last year.

In the first two weeks of March, Brazil exported 117,481 tons of beef worth US$572.021 million, according to the Foreign Trade Secretariat (Secex). In the second week of the month, 56,936 tons were shipped, maintaining a brisk pace of over 11,000 tons per day, though lower than during the first week of the month.

The dollar’s weakness is pushing up exchange rates in regional countries, which in turn has increased reference prices for finished cattle. The WBR Mercosur Steer Index rose by 4 cents over the week to US$3.83 per kg carcass weight, primarily supported by a 2.4% appreciation of the Brazilian real.

Chile’s import market continues “very slow,” with “payment issues” and “no momentum,” according to a broker active there. “It was the worst start of the year in a long time,” he said.

Kosher crews working in the region are entering their final production weeks before the Passover break, which runs from April 12 to 20. Paraguayan industry sources reported that the final slaughter date for all crews in the country will be March 28.

The US import market is “almost paralyzed” because of the uncertainty arising from President Donald Trump’s announcement to raise tariffs on imported agricultural products starting April 2. “It could cause a huge financial disruption. Imagine an importer closing a 10-container deal at US$1 million, only to suddenly face an extra US$250,000 in unplanned tariffs. It’s a big blow, and this is a low-margin business,” a market operator told WBR.

With no major changes in the tight regional supply dynamics, chilled rump & loin prices remained firm, with Argentine deals closing at US$16,500–16,800 FOB for regular Hilton programs. One European importer stated that most offers this week were around US$17,000/ton or higher. “We aren’t offering today, but if we had to go on the market, we wouldn’t go below US$17,500,” said a plant source.

A Paraguayan exporter noted that the international market “moved” in the past week after Brazil began to push its selling prices up in China. “It looks like we’ll have an active remainder of the year, with plenty of competition to secure slaughter cattle,” he predicted. Given the uncertainty about the cattle market’s behavior, “there’s no need to rush into forward sales,” he added.

The attitude of Chinese importers changed last week, with greater eagerness to close deals and an improvement in sale prices from the region. “The Chinese are looking for all they can get,” said a Brazilian exporter. The source reported deals for forequarter 8 cuts at US$5,500 CFR and 80VL trimming at US$3,900.

The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) has confirmed a case of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in China involving a herd that was being transported in Hami, Xinjiang Province, in the northwest of the country. The case was confirmed by the Animal Epidemic Prevention and Control Center of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

South Korea has confirmed a foot-and-mouth disease case in a cattle farm, the first such outbreak in nearly two years, Reuters reported, citing the agriculture ministry on Friday.

The USDA has released one of its semiannual reports on the trends in beef and pork production and imports for Japan. Demand for cheaper beef, such as that from dairy cows, increased as a reasonable alternative to more expensive imported beef. However, domestic beef supply was limited in 2024 as dairy farmers expanded their herds to boost milk production, which also led to a reduction in the slaughter of dairy cows and heifers.

Germany has regained its status as free of foot-and-mouth disease in most areas of the country, opening the way for the lifting of export restrictions on meat and dairy products, Reuters reported, citing Germany’s agriculture ministry.

Compared to last market test, US beef import prices were generally steady, instances weak to lower.

There is surfacing some evidence that the brash actions of the past month will be working their way to a rational conclusion. Trump is meeting this month with leaders of Mexico, Canada and possibly next month China. Markets in the meantime will find their footing and develop more calm in the wake, considered The AG Center. Cattle owners will press to extend the rally in cash prices this week.

Shane Smith, CEO of Smithfield Foods—the largest pork company in the U.S., owned by Chinese firm WH Foods—has pointed out that his company is required to sell all the pork and byproducts they process after slaughtering animals.

The National Coffee Association (NCA) of the United States has urged the Trump administration to exempt coffee from any tariffs, arguing that the additional tariffs already imposed on Canada and Mexico could drive up prices in the U.S. by as much as 50%.

US consumer sentiment plunged to a nearly 2-1/2-year low in March and inflation expectations soared amid worries that President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs, which have ignited a trade war, would boost prices and undercut the economy.

The ABC Consortium is optimistic about an additional quota in the United States that would help reduce the sector’s dependence on China. Argentina’s beef exports started the year off on the wrong foot. In January, year-over-year exports dropped by 20%, mainly due to three key factors: lower cattle supply and a combination of low international prices and the sector’s current competitiveness conditions. Despite these challenges, the ABC Export Consortium remains hopeful for positive news this year.

As of the end of January, Uruguay’s meatpacking industry had US$ 390 million in outstanding loans with public and private banks, according to data from the Central Bank of Uruguay (BCU). Compared to January 2024, liabilities increased by approximately US$ 79 million. This also marks the highest level of debt since July 2023, when it stood at US$ 401 million.