China's Ministry of Commerce confirmed that Brazil consumed 80% of its 2026 beef import safeguard quota as of July 21, equivalent to 884,800 metric tons of its annual 1.106 million metric ton allocation.
The 50% milestone had been reached on May 9. Market participants already anticipate that volumes currently in transit will be sufficient to fill the remaining 221,200 metric tons of quota headroom, with full exhaustion and activation of China's 55% over-quota tariff widely expected before the end of August.
Brazilian exporters have begun repositioning ahead of the threshold. The US has absorbed the largest share of redirected volumes, with year-to-date shipments through June running 16.8% above last year at 185,472 metric tons. Chile and Russia have also taken on growing volumes.
Source: Expana
