Following the release of further details on the 300,000-ton quota announced by Donald Trump for the September-November quarter, at a rate of 100,000 tons per month, the main question for operators has become how the market price against which the 25% reduction should be applied will be determined.

An operator again said it was virtually impossible for the announced 300,000 tons to enter during the 90-day period. This is not only because of the lack of available beef, but also because of the logistical constraints involved in suddenly adding thousands of containers to commercial flows, together with the capacity limitations of ports, warehouses, and facilities where goods await USDA inspection.

For one trader, the new Trump quota’s real commercial appeal lies in using the window to bring beef into the US duty-free by November and keeping it in storage for sale during the first months of 2027. Importers could thereby build inventories without using the quota available from January 1.

The announcement has already begun to alter negotiations with other suppliers. A trader told WBR that he had secured Australian beef at attractive prices before the tariff free quota became known, but that buyers subsequently increased pressure to renegotiate prices downward.

A regional trader reported firm Chinese demand for Uruguayan beef, with buyers actively seeking product. Similarly, a Brazilian industrial source said China was showing increased interest in receiving offers from Brazil and in knowing when that beef would arrive.

The European chilled Hilton market began September with South American industry asking prices strengthening sharply.

A Paraguayan exporter reported business with Chile this week for 20-cut sets at US$ 7,560/ton CIP. Another industrial source from the country said the Chilean market continues to offer limited returns compared with the industry’s asking prices.

The average value of slaughter cattle in the region corrected downward this week. The WBR Mercosur Steer Index fell US$ 0.03 to US$ 4.84/kg carcass weight. Uruguay was the only country to maintain an upward trend, although it was more moderate than in previous weeks.

Minerva CFO Edison Ticle expects finished male prices in Brazil, which fell after the Chinese quota was exhausted, to stabilize in the coming weeks before recovering in the final quarter, when the industry resumes China-oriented production ahead of the 2027 quota.

Brazil’s second-largest cattle herd faces disproportionate exposure to the closure of the Chinese quota because it lacks authorized access to alternative markets such as the US, Chile, Mexico, and the EU.

Brazil exported 725,940 live cattle in January-July 2026, up 26.7% year-on-year and a record for the period. Pará accounted for 63.7% of the animals shipped abroad, followed by Rio Grande do Sul with 25.8%.

Although the downward trend eased toward the end of last week, with some plants raising their purchase prices, the weekly net result was another decline in finished male prices.

Uruguay’s beef export volume fell sharply in August, both month-on-month and year-on-year.

The suspension of Brazilian production for the Chinese market allowed China to regain the lead among destinations for Uruguayan frozen boneless beef shipments in August, overtaking the US.

Shipments under the 481 quota for the final quarter of the year remain below the levels recorded in quarters through early this year, resulting in lower chilled beef exports during the shipment windows for this European quota.

Uruguay cannot access the new 300,000-ton quota officially announced by the White House this week, while the figures show the current weight of the tariff on Uruguayan beef in the US market.

Frigorífico Las Piedras plans to carry out work at its slaughter plant that will require activity to be suspended for at least one week.

Kosher crews are completing beef production in the region this week, prompting the plants that had been working with them to moderate purchases and, in some cases, quote lower prices than they were offering last week.

The non-working holiday on Tuesday, August 25, together with the decision by some plants not to operate on Monday either, drove cattle slaughter down to 32,994 head in the week ended August 29, almost 4,000 fewer than the previous week and 6,350 head below the same period last year.

The sheepmeat market remains firm and well demanded, but Las Piedras’ suspension of slaughter for renovation work could ease upward pressure.

Together with San Jacinto, Las Piedras is one of the two main plants processing sheep. Its shutdown, likely from the middle of next week and for at least one week, could bring the market into better balance just as supplies are expected to begin showing some signs of growth.

The rapid pace of exports to the US reached another milestone, exhausting the additional 20,000-ton quota for the third quarter one month before the end of the period.

According to Rosgan data, cattle slaughter in August appears to have remained below 1 million head, while the share of females was estimated at around 43%, about 5 percentage points lower than a year earlier.

A few days ago, a 50% share in a breeding bull was sold for Ar$ 300 million, equivalent to around US$ 200,000, valuing the animal at a national record.

CEO Fernando Galletti de Queiroz reaffirmed Minerva’s commitment to South America as a global platform, while CFO Edison Ticle expects Argentina to become the company’s second-largest origin by revenue, driven by US demand and less restrictive quota limitations on exports to China.

Export cattle prices remained stable once again. Higher-quality British crossbred steers remain within a range of Ar$ 7,900-8,200/kg carcass weight, while Zebu-cross steers are quoted at Ar$ 7,600-7,900/kg.

The temporary opening of a 300,000-ton duty-free quota by the US comes at an opportune time for Paraguay, which in just two years has turned the US market into a destination for 10% to 15% of its beef exports.

Industry demand began to ease with the departure of the kosher slaughter crews, some of which have already completed their operations. Chile is also showing somewhat less firmness, although a source told WBR that the decline in demand from that market is not as pronounced as in other seasons, in a context that also included disruptions at the border.

Amid pressure over food prices and with the November midterm elections on the horizon, Trump announced legal measures to allow producers to process their own food and ordered a review of regulations governing the meat industry.

Trump's announcement, framed as an olive branch to cattle producers after the controversy over the ground beef import waiver, faces pushback from the industry itself, which warns that weakening federal inspections could destroy the US beef brand's global reputation as the gold standard of food safety.

A proclamation signed by Donald Trump opened an additional quota for "other countries," a category that excludes nations that already hold their own allocation, including Uruguay.

The authorization of a 300,000-ton duty-free beef quota is unlikely to have a noticeable impact on prices paid by US consumers, but it could undermine market expectations and producer revenue prospects in the coming months.

The Oval Office meeting, which had not been disclosed in advance, revealed JBS’s active role in shaping the Trump administration’s trade policy at a time when the company is facing an antitrust investigation by the Department of Justice, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Four of the country’s largest cattle industry organizations warn that flooding the market with 300,000 tons of duty-free foreign beef threatens herd rebuilding and long-term food security.

The Livestock Marketing Association, American Farm Bureau Federation, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and United States Cattlemen’s Association sent a joint letter to President Trump calling for the immediate reversal of the initiative to import up to 300,000 tons of lean beef trimmings over 90 days, with the 26.4% out-of-quota tariff suspended, in an effort to reduce retail prices by 25%.

US fed cattle trading remained uneven last week. Early sales in eastern Nebraska were reported at US$/cwt 218 live and US$/cwt 345 dressed. Midweek bids of US$/cwt 220 failed to attract enough cattle, pushing much of the trade toward the end of the week.

Compared to the last market test, US beef import prices were weak to lower, with some instances moderately to sharply lower.

Trade disruptions are accelerating the redistribution of global beef flows, with Brazil and Australia the countries most affected by China’s quota system, against a backdrop of contracting global supply.

With less than four months to go, Australian producers targeting the EU market must complete their EUDR compliance requirements, and the industry is operating on the assumption that no further extensions will be granted. The ban on Brazilian beef adds urgency to Australia's positioning in the European market.

Frigorífico Victoria CEO Adriana Herreros said there is still uncertainty over how the duty-free entry of 300,000 tons into the US will be administered. Brazil is putting pressure on Paraguay’s markets, while the cattle shortage will continue to constrain slaughter.