Brazil has already used 65.4% of its annual beef export quota to China, according to data from China's Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs (GACC). Between January and May, Brazil shipped 723,745 tonnes of beef to China, accounting for 56.3% of the country's total beef imports during the period.
The pace of shipments reinforces expectations that Brazil's 1.106 million-tonne quota will be fully utilized between late June and early July, depending on the speed at which cargoes are cleared through Chinese ports. Meanwhile, China's overall beef imports have slowed throughout the year, falling from 366,400 tonnes in January to 207,000 tonnes in May. Cumulative imports for the first five months reached 1.285 million tonnes, representing 47.8% of the country's global quota of 2.688 million tonnes.
Australia (205,000 tonnes) became the first major supplier to exhaust its 2026 quota. Since June 18, Australian beef entering China has been subject to an additional 55% safeguard tariff.
Among the other major exporters, Argentina had used 41.3% of its quota with 210,857 tonnes, while Uruguay and New Zealand had utilized just 22.3% and 22.2% of their respective allocations.
The United States continues to play only a marginal role in China's imported beef market. From January through May, US shipments totaled just 803 tonnes, equivalent to 0.5% of its annual quota of 164,000 tonnes.
