On July 1, 3,551 tonnes were awaiting entry into the European Union under the third-country 481 quota (excluding the United States), exceeding the quarterly allocation of 2,500 tonnes by more than 1,000 tonnes.
In the second day of the quarter 250 tons were added so the total ammounts to 3,803 tons.
This has been the pattern in every recent quarter. The quota is comfortably oversubscribed, requiring importers to pay a proportional share of the full levy, calculated according to the volume exceeding the quota.
The volume is expected to continue increasing over the coming days.
The main suppliers under this quota are Uruguay and Argentina. With the new beef quota granted to Mercosur under the free trade agreement between the two regional blocs, which carries a 7.5% tariff, the extent of oversubscription under the 481 quota is likely to gradually decline, as this new quota also allows imports of beef from grainfed cattle.
