The Chinese market cooled sharply over the past week, with very limited new business from the region, while its main supplier, Brazil, has begun shifting its focus toward alternative destinations.

A Paraguayan exporter highlighted strong Taiwanese interest during the past week, with bids of US$/t 13,000 for rib eye, US$/t 7,800 for shin & shank, US$/t 7,500 for knuckle, US$/t 8,000 for both chuck tender and oyster blade, and US$/t 9,800 for rib fingers.

Prices for the Hilton rump & loin set have yet to establish a clear trend, with a notably wide range of transactions reported in the market. Import sources reported Argentine Hilton business during the past week in a range of US$/t 19,200-19,500 FOB, while already-produced product has traded at around US$/t 18,500 FOB.

The possibility that the Trump administration could eliminate or relax tariffs on imported beef continues to create uncertainty among buyers, despite the absence of any concrete measures so far.

The Chilean market continues to show limited activity and difficulties in absorbing the higher prices sought by some exporters.

“Things are very slow. Trade is struggling,” a Chilean market operator told WBR.

World Beef Report’s (WBR) Mercosur Steer Index closed virtually unchanged over the past week. The regional reference stood at US$/kg 4.93 carcass, just one cent below the previous week.

From September 3 onward, only products certified as free of antimicrobial use will be eligible for export to the European Union. While Brazil has approved a voluntary certification protocol, traceability remains the industry's main challenge.

The US government has proposed a new 25% tariff on Brazilian products after an investigation concluded that the South American country engages in unfair trade practices, according to Bloomberg.

Brazilian beef processor Masterboi will invest R$ 60 million in a new freezing tunnel at its Canhotinho plant in the state of Pernambuco, aiming to increase slaughter capacity from 700 to 900 head per day and double its export capacity.

The cattle-to-corn exchange ratio improved in Mato Grosso during May, supported by a sharper decline in corn prices than in fed cattle values, according to Imea.

Brazil’s fed cattle market recovered during the final week of May, with prices moving higher in several key cattle-producing regions after weakening through much of the month. In São Paulo, the country’s benchmark market, the China-qualified finished male closed the week at R$/@ 352, up R$/@ 4 from the previous Friday, while the standard finished male rose to R$/@ 347.

The average export value of Uruguayan beef reached another record in May, maintaining an uninterrupted upward trend since January this year.

Exports of frozen boneless beef, Uruguay’s main export item, showed its two leading destinations — the United States and China — with very similar volumes.

In May, both destinations imported around 7,200 tons of these products. In the cumulative January-May period, frozen boneless exports to the United States fell 25% year-on-year to 41,972 tons, while shipments to China increased 1% to 36,408 tons.

Exports of bone-in beef, offal and tripe continue to have China as their leading destination by a wide margin.

This explains why the Asian country overwhelmingly dominates total foreign exchange earnings from all beef products.

Driven by shipments for the 481-quota window that will begin entering the European Union on July 1, chilled beef exports to the EU increased compared to the previous two months, although they were nearly 1,400 tons (-33%) lower than in the same month of 2025.

The Uruguayan Meat Industry Chamber (CIF) marked the 150th anniversary of the first chilled beef shipment with a conference focused on the challenges and opportunities facing the country’s beef chain.

Delegations from Latin America and Spain met in Madrid to discuss sanitary controls and maximum residue limits (MRLs) applied to food exports destined for the European Union. The meetings took place between May 18 and 22 under a cooperation program between the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) and CAF.

One intermediary described the cattle market as being in a “deceptive” phase, as somewhat more supply has emerged in recent weeks without representing a structural change in cattle availability.

Cattle slaughter posted a sharp weekly decline at the end of May. According to data released by INAC, 38,206 head were processed in the week ended May 30, down 12% from the previous week. It should be noted that slaughter activity was reduced by one day due to the Meat Industry Workers’ Day holiday.

Sheep slaughter fell sharply during the final week of May, with just 1,529 head processed. Oferan accounted for 85% of total activity, slaughtering 1,311 animals.

Lambs were the largest category with 813 head, followed by ewes with 554 head.

Industry sources told WBR that Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay have reached a preliminary agreement on how to distribute the beef tariff-rate quota created under the EU-Mercosur agreement, which will gradually increase to 99,000 tons by the fifth year (55% chilled and 45% frozen).

According to official information, Argentina had shipped 29,079 tons of its 2025/26 Hilton quota to the European Union as of May 31, leaving just 1% of the allocation (309.1 tons) to be shipped during the final month of the quota year.

Between January and May, Argentina exported 41,013 tons of beef under its tariff-rate quota with the United States, nearly matching the total volume shipped during all of 2025 (just over 44,000 tons), which had already been a record year.

Export cattle prices held steady following the decline recorded the previous week. British-breed cross steers, considered the highest-quality category for beef production, remained in a range of Ar$ 7,900-8,100 per kg hook weight, while zebu-cross steers traded between Ar$ 7,700-7,900 per kg hook weight.

Paraguay’s cattle slaughter totaled 143,866 head in May, an increase of more than 38,000 head from April’s low of 105,000. However, it remained 35% below the 222,000 head processed in the same month last year.

Cattle prices strengthened again at the end of May and reached new highs for the year.

Government officials from Canada and Mercosur countries (Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay) met in Toronto last week for a new round of negotiations aimed at advancing a potential trade agreement between the two blocs. The discussions prompted renewed opposition from Canada's beef industry, which is lobbying against any expansion of Mercosur beef access to the Canadian market.

The spread of New World Screwworm (NWS) continues to raise concerns in North America after Mexican authorities confirmed new cases in the states of Nuevo León and Coahuila, located just 52 to 55 miles (84-89 km) from the US border.

Fed cattle prices moved lower at the end of the week as packers entered the new week with relatively light inventories, unless additional cattle are purchased over the weekend. According to The AG Center report, trade developed on Friday afternoon across all major regions at US$/cwt 256-257, down US$/cwt 1-2 from late the previous week and about US$/cwt 3 below the bulk of last week's transactions. Dressed cattle sales were reported at US$/cwt 405-408, mostly US$/cwt 407, down US$/cwt 1-3 week-on-week.

Compared to the previous market test, import prices were mostly slightly lower, although some items remained steady.

Uruguay's National Meat Institute (INAC) announced the launch of a new promotional campaign for Uruguay Beef in the European Union, seeking to capitalize on opportunities created by the EU-Mercosur agreement and growing demand for high-value beef cuts.

The European Union rejected Brazil’s proposal to gradually implement the new sanitary requirements related to the use of antimicrobials in animal production. As a result, from September 3 onward Brazilian exporters will have to fully comply with the new rules to maintain access to the European market, Pecuaria reported.

Poland has confirmed its first outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) in domestic pigs in 2026. The case was detected on a farm with 21,390 pigs located in the village of Jarosławsko, in the West Pomeranian Province.

MLA’s latest Beef Production Intention Survey, which gathered responses from more than 3,000 cattle producers, showed confidence in the Australian cattle sector remains strong. Six in ten producers expressed optimism about industry prospects over the next 12 months.

Australian cattle slaughter reached 166,000 head last week, marking the highest weekly adult cattle slaughter recorded since 2015, according to NLRS data. Queensland led the increase, with processing volumes rising by 6,000 head compared to the previous week.