Business with China remains extremely slow, with very little buyer interest and a widespread perception that the market is saturated with beef in stock. The two-month extension of the decision on potential measures to limit beef imports (until January 26) has not substantially changed the “pessimistic” outlook that has prevailed for several weeks.

It was a weak week for commercial activity with the United States. Only by Tuesday were some importers beginning to request quotes, but without the conclusion of major deals, a trader told WBR. Thanksgiving last Thursday resulted in minimal business.

With expectations of lower Argentine beef production in the last week of the year and early 2026, prices for rump & loin Hilton cuts strengthened for arrivals in weeks 5 to 7. WBR learned that some Argentine plants plan to shut down for around 15 days.

The Chilean market showed slower activity, according to local operators, in a scenario where importers have already secured their holiday-season supplies.

Deals with MENA countries saw virtually no price changes last week. A trader cited closures from Uruguay for lamb carcasses at US$/t 6,900–7,000 CFR and mutton at US$/t 5,300.

Slaughter cattle prices trended upward this week, driven by increases in Argentina and Uruguay as well as the strengthening of the Brazilian real. The WBR Mercosur Steer Index recovered 5 cents in the week, reaching US$ 4.31 per kg carcass weight.

Cattle supply in Brazil is expected to begin declining in 2026, reinforcing the upward phase of the price cycle for finished male, according to Itaú BBA’s Agro Consultancy. Manager Cesar Castro Alves noted that producers are struggling to acquire replacement animals and that 2025 will close with slaughter up 5% and beef production up 3%, due to the heavy slaughter of cows, which yield lighter carcasses than males.

BTG Pactual projects that meatpackers will face tighter margins in 2026, both in beef and poultry. According to the bank, Brazil’s cattle cycle shows clear signs of transition into the retention phase, with calf prices rising faster than finished male prices — a typical pattern at the start of this stage.

JBS and Grupo Viva announced the creation of JBS Viva, a new company that becomes a global leader in the leather sector by integrating the production and commercial operations of both groups. The agreement was formalized after approval by the JBS Board of Directors and the signing of a binding memorandum of understanding with Vanz Holding and Viposa, Viva’s shareholders.

XP Investimentos updated its projections for Minerva Foods and raised the stock’s price target to R$ 8.40, from R$ 7.90. Although it kept its buy recommendation, the brokerage decided to remove Minerva from its list of top picks, following the strong recent appreciation.

The steady rise in court-supervised restructuring filings among agribusiness companies, driven by high debt loads and shrinking profitability in recent years, is expected to continue through 2026. According to economists and restructuring specialists, conditions should only begin to improve around mid-2027, helped by stronger agricultural commodity prices and lower interest rates, which reduce borrowing costs, Valor reported.

After last week’s slight downward correction in slaughter cattle prices, references remained almost unchanged in the current, supported mainly by an improvement in domestic demand, along with exports that continue at a solid pace.

A combination of higher slaughter numbers and heavier carcasses will push Uruguay’s beef production this year to the second-highest level on record. If current trends hold, 2026 could surpass the record set in 2021.

Uruguay’s average export value for beef in November reached US$ 7,519 per ton shipment weight, the highest reference ever recorded for the country’s exports. The figure comes from export declarations reported by Customs.

In November, Uruguay exported 11,926 tons of frozen beef to China, including 6,799 tons of boneless beef and 5,128 tons bone-in. The total volume is 4 thousand tons below November 2024 and the lowest for that month since 2015, ten years ago.

Including exports for the 481 quota that will enter the European market in early 2026, chilled beef shipments to the European Union reached 4,156 tons in November, above the 3,841 tons shipped in the previous quota window.

Exports of offal and tripe have China as an almost exclusive destination. In November, Uruguay shipped 8,309 tons of bovine offal, of which 6,658 tons (80%) went to China.

After three months of increases, feeder cow prices lost 10.1% in price per kilo during October and November, based on values reported in the main video auctions (Lote 21, Plaza Rural and Pantalla Uruguay). This drop was partially offset by a rise in the category’s average weight.

A problem in an electrical panel triggered a fire on Sunday morning at the San Jacinto meat plant. The company said the situation was quickly contained and that sheep slaughter will continue as normal.

The upward trend in slaughter cattle prices strengthened this week, with a recovery of around US$ 5–10 cents per kg carcass weight compared with the previous week, and about US$ 15–20 cents above the lows reached in the first half of November, when demand was focused on production for the 481-quota window—using company-owned animals or cattle purchased in advance from feedlots—and had a smaller presence in the spot market.

Although down from the previous week, cattle slaughter remained above 50 thousand head for the fourth week in a row. INAC reported that 51,173 head were processed in the week ending November 29, 2,730 fewer than the previous week (-5%), but 7,600 more than in the same week last year.

Sheep slaughter continues to rise and surpassed 40 thousand head, something not seen since the second week of December 2023, nearly two years ago.

The shortage of cattle and the sharp price increases seen over the past couple of months have created serious difficulties for the processing industry, which is unable to pass those higher costs on to prices either in the domestic market or abroad.

After a short pause following eight consecutive weeks of increases, export steer prices rose once again: top-quality fat steers —British-breed crossbreds— are now trading between Ar$ 7,300 and 7,500 per kg carcass weight, while Zebu-cross steers climbed to the Ar$ 7,000–7,300 range.

Representatives of the Brazilian multinational JBS visited the Frigonorte plant in Pedro Juan Caballero, Amambay, over the past 15 days, Valor Agro reported.

Cattle prices remained largely unchanged over the past week. The industry maintained its list prices at US$ 4.10 per kg for regular finished males and US$ 3.80 per kg for cows, although some plants are paying up to 10 cents above those levels, an intermediary told World Beef Report (WBR).

The USDA’s long-delayed Cattle on Feed (COF) report, released after the government shutdown, confirms that U.S. herd liquidation is still underway. Placements fell 10% and marketings declined 8% from October 2024, leaving total cattle on feed 1.6% lower year-over-year.

Tyson Foods will eliminate 1,761 jobs at its beef-processing complex in Amarillo, Texas, early next year as it prepares to shut down the facility’s second production shift, according to a WARN notice filed with state regulators.

The fed cattle market starts a new month with a noticeably better attitude among cattle owners. No delivery notices will be issued with the spot December contract at US$ 215 and last week’s cash sales at US$ 220. Packers will review show lists this Monday, with most trading expected to take place later in the week. Healthy slaughter rates are anticipated both this week and next, according to The AG Center report.

Compared to the last market test, US beef import prices were not fully established. Trading was slow ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, according to the USDA weekly report.

The European Parliament approved on Wednesday a set of measures to simplify the implementation of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), in force since 2023. MEPs backed targeted changes aimed at making compliance easier for companies and supplier countries, after having agreed to fast-track the Commission’s proposal.

Concerns over African swine fever (ASF) have resurfaced in Spain three decades after its eradication. The discovery of several dead wild boars in the Collserola mountain range, in the metropolitan area of Barcelona, has triggered alarms and forced the activation of an unprecedented surveillance plan to stop the spread of a disease that, while harmless to humans, poses a serious threat to the swine industry —one of the pillars of Spain’s livestock sector.

Australia’s feedlot sector sustained its momentum through Q3 2025, with national capacity reaching record levels and quarterly turnoff nearing one million head. Despite a slight drop in cattle on feed, utilization remains high, reinforcing the feedlot’s central role in national beef production.

China’s General Administration of Customs (GACC) rejected a significant volume of imported meat in October, showing a pattern similar to September: a predominance of Argentine chicken and U.S. beef, although with clearly different reasons depending on the origin, OIG+X reported.

The number of breeding sows in China has fallen below 40 million, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, reflecting the pressures facing the country’s pork sector due to oversupply, depressed prices and shifts in meat consumption. In October, the herd dropped below that threshold after registering 40.35 million in September.