The Chinese market continues to face one of its most challenging periods of the year, with trading activity virtually at a standstill, high inventories and buyers focused on reducing stocks before returning to the market. “Absolutely nothing from China, not even an inquiry,” a regional broker told World Beef Report (WBR).

A trader told WBR that he does not expect the United States to replace China as the main destination for Brazilian beef. While part of the volume seeking to avoid the 55% safeguard tariff is being redirected to alternative markets, he believes many Brazilian plants will continue supplying China because they are not approved to export to the US or lack sufficient alternative outlets.

In contrast to the weakness seen in other Asian destinations, Taiwan continues to generate opportunities for Paraguayan beef, particularly for specific cuts and products.

In the United States, one trader described the domestic beef market as healthy, with domestic 90 CL remaining firm and 50 CL beginning to recover. The problem, he explained, is the sudden appearance of additional Brazilian beef volumes that were not included in the market’s normal supply program.

Prices for Hilton rump & loin cuts continue to show signs of firmness in Europe, supported by limited supply and greater resistance from exporters to accept lower values.

The sheepmeat business in the Middle East continues to face a difficult environment. A regional trader said market activity is being affected by several factors simultaneously.

Russia continues to provide an alternative outlet for some Brazilian exporters seeking to place volumes displaced from China.

The Chilean market continues to show moderate activity, with business concentrated mainly around Brazilian supply, while Paraguay continues to face difficulties obtaining the prices sought by its industry.

Prices for slaughter cattle across the region returned to a downward trend during the past week. The World Beef Report (WBR) Mercosur Steer Index lost 11 cents to US$ 4.78/kg carcass weight, its lowest level since late March.

JBS stopped producing specific beef cuts for the Chinese market on June 20 in order to avoid having new shipments arrive after China’s import quota has been exhausted.

Indonesia has become the second-largest market for Brazilian beef offals less than a year after opening to imports of the product. Between January and May 2026, the Southeast Asian country imported more than 12,000 tons valued at US$ 19.5 million, ranking behind only Hong Kong among the leading destinations for Brazilian beef offals, according to Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture.

The share of females in Brazil’s cattle slaughter is estimated to have surpassed 50% again in April, according to Datagro Pecuária. The consultancy projects that cows and heifers accounted for 50.7% of all cattle processed during the month, reinforcing a trend observed since the beginning of 2026.

JBJ Agropecuária, the cattle company controlled by José Batista Júnior (Júnior Friboi), has withdrawn from its planned acquisition of Fazenda Conforto, one of JBS’s largest cattle suppliers in Brazil. The decision was jointly communicated by both parties to Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade), bringing months of negotiations to an end.

Brazil’s meat industry remains optimistic that the country can regain its authorization to export meat and animal products to the European Union before September.

Brazil’s fed cattle market weakened again last week despite tight supplies and relatively short slaughter schedules.

A trade mission led by Uruguay’s Foreign Ministry, together with MGAP, INAC and Inale, is scheduled to visit Southeast Asia in mid-August, while the Mercosur-European Union agreement is beginning to deliver better-than-expected signals for Uruguay’s chilled beef exports.

The final report from the European Union audit confirmed that Uruguay continues to meet all requirements to export beef to the bloc, while efforts are advancing with China to lift suspensions linked to veterinary drug residue findings.

The 24th Beef Cattle Pregnancy Diagnosis Evaluation Workshop confirmed an average pregnancy rate of 81.1% across more than 300,000 breeding females evaluated. Technical specialists concluded that differences in results are increasingly driven by management practices rather than weather conditions.

Although the situation is not uniform across processing plants, a significant portion of Uruguay’s beef industry is currently covering a large share of its cattle requirements with animals coming from company-owned and third-party feedlots, many of which had not yet been priced. “Today, feedlot cattle are the main driver of price formation,” a market operator told WBR.

Uruguay’s cattle slaughter totaled 44,951 head, up 13% from the previous week, which had one less processing day. According to INAC data, steer slaughter showed a strong recovery, rising 17% to 23,135 head, while cow slaughter increased 22% to 14,801 head.

After falling to a low point of just over 300 head processed a week earlier, sheep slaughter recovered sharply during the latest week.

Following April’s decline, Argentina’s beef exports reached 58,630 tons (product weight) in May, representing a 23.3% increase from the previous month and a 7.5% rise compared to May 2025. Export revenue totaled US$ 425.1 million, up 28.6% from April and 42.3% higher than in the fifth month of last year.

During the first five months of 2026, Argentina exported nearly 271,400 tons of beef (product weight) worth approximately US$ 1.834 billion.

Exports to China totaled 20,493 tonnes of frozen boneless beef in May, valued at US$ 124.2 million. This represented an increase of 35.7% from April but was still 17.3% below the volume shipped in May last year. The average export price, which had already surpassed the previous record of US$/t 5,900 set in May 2022, reached a new all-time high of US$/t 6,060 in May 2026.

The United States, Argentina’s second-largest beef market, and Israel, which competes with Europe for third place, recorded the strongest growth among major destinations in 2026.

Exports of beef offals and prepared beef products totaled 8,807 tonnes in May, generating US$ 23.5 million in revenue. The average export price reached US$/t 2,672, up 1.9% from April and 47.6% higher than in May 2025, marking the highest level on record.

Export cattle prices remained steady. British-breed crossbred steers, considered the highest-quality category for beef production, continued trading between Ar$/kg 7,800 and 8,000 carcass weight, while zebu-cross steers remained in the Ar$/kg 7,500-7,800 range.

Paraguay’s sheepmeat sector reached a new milestone in its international market development with its first official sheepmeat export to the United Arab Emirates. The shipment was carried out by Frigorífico Victoria and consisted of approximately 12 tons of product that had been sold in February but whose dispatch was delayed due to logistical disruptions linked to the conflict in the Middle East.

After reaching historically high levels in recent weeks, Paraguay’s cattle market appears to have entered a more stable phase. Market sources told WBR that the price for slaughter steers, which traded above US$/kg 5.00 last week, is now showing references closer to that level rather than moving higher. “I see it closer to US$/kg 5.00 than US$/kg 5.05,” one market operator said.

The closure of two JBS plants in the United States announced last week reflects the country’s historically tight cattle supply rather than a structural deterioration of the business, according to a BTG Pactual report following the company’s Investor Day.

Cattle inventories in US feedlots with capacities of more than 1,000 head totaled 11.7 million animals as of June 1, up 2% from the same period in 2025, according to USDA-NASS’s monthly Cattle on Feed report. The figure was largely in line with market expectations and suggests fed cattle supplies remain relatively tight despite the year-on-year increase in inventories.

US beef exports totaled 64,469 tons in April, down 19% from the same month in 2025 (79,605 tons), while export value declined 10% to US$ 665.9 million, according to USDA data compiled by the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF). The average export value reached US$/t 10,350, up 11% year-on-year.

Friday brought another active round of negotiations in the US fed cattle market. Initial bids of US$/cwt 254 gradually improved throughout the day, eventually reaching US$/cwt 260, according to The AG Center.

Imported beef prices posted further declines in the US market during the past week. According to USDA’s weekly report, prices for products from Australia and New Zealand ranged from steady to slightly lower, with some instances of moderate declines.

The European Parliament has approved legislation reserving a range of meat-related terms exclusively for products of animal origin. The measure passed with 560 votes in favor, 75 against and 25 abstentions, and aims to prevent products made from cultivated cells or plant-based alternatives from using terms such as “meat,” “steak,” “loin,” “rib,” “chop,” “breast,” “bacon” and “liver,” among others.

Australia has officially filled its annual 205,000-ton beef quota for China, meaning that all additional exports will be subject to a 55% safeguard tariff from June 20 onward.

Australia’s beef industry still lacks clarity on whether China will allow product to accumulate in bonded cold storage during the final months of 2026 and be cleared for import after January 1, 2027, when the annual import quota resets (209,000 tons).

After stagnating in April (-0.3%), China imported approximately 207,000 tons of beef in May, valued at US$ 1.338 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 6.4% in volume, according to GACC data released by OIG+X.

Chinese customs blocked the entry of 350 tonnes of beef in May, with nearly half of that volume originating from Mongolia.

South Korea imported 37,631 tons of beef in May, down 4% from April and 4.9% below the same month in 2025, according to the country's trade statistics. The decline was mainly attributed to fewer working days due to several public holidays during the month and tighter supplies from the United States.