Week after week, the Chinese market continues to consolidate its price recovery, although the usual tension between buyers and sellers remains.

A Paraguayan exporter said Taiwan remains “well demanded,” with CFR prices of US$/t 8,300 for both oyster blade and chuck tender.

A Brazilian exporter said the US market remains largely unchanged, with bids for 90 CL blocks at around US$/t 5,900-6,000 CFR. There is greater interest in 95 CL blocks, with buyers reportedly willing to pay a larger-than-usual premium over 90 CL.

A regional trader said the US imported beef market is going through a “seasonally weak” period, compounded by the uncertainty generated by the new 300,000-ton quota.

Hilton rump & loin prices strengthened again, with Argentine sales reported at US$/t 22,100-22,300 FOB over the past week. Asking prices from some plants have already reached US$/t 22,500 FOB, with offers ranging from US$/t 22,100 to US$/t 22,600 FOB.

The Mercosur agricultural associations that make up FARM reached a preliminary understanding on the allocation of the quota for 2027.

A Paraguayan exporter said there is demand from Chile for October shipments, although buyers have not yet begun quoting prices.

In Russia, a Brazilian processor reported bids of US$/t 6,300 for chuck & blade, although no deals have yet been concluded.

Finished cattle prices followed divergent trends across the region. The net result was stability for the Mercosur Steer, with the WBR Index unchanged at US$ 4.84 per kilo carcass weight.

Brazilian beef exports declined significantly in August due to lower production and the halt in shipments to China after the country filled its 2026 quota.

As expected, Brazilian beef exports to China collapsed in August, while shipments to other destinations, including Russia, surged.

With the European Union’s ban on Brazilian beef imports due to take effect on Thursday, September 3, shipments surged in August, particularly for frozen beef.

During the first four business days of September, Brazil exported 40,582 tons of beef at an average price of US$/t 6,138, according to data from the Foreign Trade Secretariat (Secex).

Cattle slaughter at federally inspected plants in Mato Grosso totaled 526,680 head in August, up 0.5% from the previous month but down 9.9% from August 2025, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture (Mapa), informed Imea.

The reversal of Brazil’s cattle cycle will become more evident in 2027, with lower slaughter and beef production, according to projections from the USDA office in Brasilia. The retention of breeding females and other cattle categories will reduce supplies and push calf prices higher.

Brazilian live cattle exports are forecast to decline 20% in 2027 to 1 million head, reflecting lower cattle availability associated with the reversal of the livestock cycle, according to the USDA office in Brasilia.

The Brazilian government warned that it could adopt reciprocal measures if negotiations with the European bloc fail to produce a satisfactory solution. The warning came on the same day the European restrictions took effect, affecting exports valued at US$ 1.84 billion annually.

Indonesia approved 21 additional Brazilian meat packing plants to export beef to its market, following an audit conducted in Brazil by the Indonesian sanitary authority between June 27 and July 5.

After declining for three consecutive weeks, average finished cattle prices increased last week, supported by tight supplies and the seasonal rise in domestic demand typically seen at the beginning of the month.

Uruguayan beef production is forecast to grow by 9% in 2027 to 650,000 tons carcass weight equivalent, the highest volume since 2021, according to the USDA office in Buenos Aires. The recovery would be driven by increased slaughter, greater cattle availability and the growing intensification of production systems.

The conflict at Terminal Cuenca del Plata (TCP) has not been resolved by the suspension of the total strike alone. According to a company statement issued on Monday, the TCP-Nelsury union decided to maintain both the strike and the so-called “union minimum staffing arrangement” indefinitely, without setting a date or time for normal operations to resume. This arrangement, established unilaterally by the union, continues to disrupt foreign trade operations even though the terminal is not completely shut down.

The meat packing industry ended July with bank debt of US$ 501 million, around US$ 81 million more than a year earlier, an increase of 19.3%, according to monthly data published by the Central Bank of Uruguay.

Weather conditions prevented cattle from coming off winter forage crops and pastures quickly and will continue to restrict supplies over the next few weeks. On the demand side, slaughter will fall significantly following the departure of the kosher teams, as the industry seeks a new market balance at lower prices.

The reinstatement of the Tacuarembó and San Jacinto meatpacking plants for exports to China could be linked to the general audit that Chinese authorities are planning to conduct of Uruguay’s meat industry in late October or November.

Vietnam’s market should open to Uruguayan beef within less than a year, estimated National Meat Institute (INAC) President Gastón Scayola following the recent official mission to that country and Indonesia.

The possibility that Frigorífico Carrasco could cease slaughtering and operate solely as a deboning facility has moved a step closer. Minerva Foods formally presented this scenario to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MTSS) during a hearing held on Wednesday, September 2, as part of its justification for requesting an extension of unemployment insurance coverage, meat industry workers’ union Foica President Martín Cardozo told WBR.

A feedlot with a static capacity of 33,000 head is under construction in the department of Durazno and is expected to become the country’s largest cattle feeding operation.

The sharp contraction in demand following the suspension of operations at several slaughter plants prompted the industry to offer prices well below those prevailing until the middle of last week. However, no business has yet been reported at the levels sought by meat packers.

Cattle slaughter returned to around 40,000 head in the week ended September 5. INAC reported that 40,225 cattle were processed, more than 7,000 head above the previous week (+22%), but still 6% lower year-on-year.

Sheep slaughter jumped last week to its highest level since mid-April, 20 weeks earlier.

Following an exceptionally strong start, Argentina ended August having shipped 7,366 tons under its 2026/27 Hilton Quota, equivalent to 25% of the total 29,389 tons allocated annually by the EU. These shipments generated nearly US$ 121 million in revenue.

Argentine beef production is forecast to increase by 3% in 2027 to 3.14 million tons carcass weight equivalent, while exports would decline slightly to 800,000 tons, according to the USDA office in Buenos Aires. Production would be virtually unchanged from 2025.

A total of 1.01 million cattle were slaughtered in August, down 7.7% from the previous month and 12.9% year-on-year.

On a business-day basis, average daily slaughter was 50,567 head in August, down 3.1% from the previous month and 8.6% from a year earlier.

Argentine cattle slaughter totaled 12.69 million head during the latest rolling 12-month period, from September 2025 through August 2026. It is necessary to go back to early 2018 to find a 12-month period with lower slaughter.

Females accounted for 42.9% of total slaughter in August, the lowest monthly proportion in at least seven years and a strong indicator of a shift toward breeding cow retention, together with the decline in overall slaughter.

Average carcass weight reached 245.5 kilos in August, marginally exceeding the previous month’s record by 0.5% and helping to moderate the impact of lower cattle slaughter on beef production. Compared with August 2025, average weight increased by more than 11 kilos, or 4.8%.

Export steer prices fell by around Ar$ 200 per kilo carcass weight following the temporary end of kosher slaughter and the completion of shipments for the next quarter of the 481 Quota. Conversely, improving Chinese demand supported prices for industrial cows.

Cattle slaughter at Paraguayan export plants declined in August, both from the previous month and from the same month last year.

Lower beef production was reflected in declining export volumes. Based on Senacsa data, Paraguay exported 23,569 tons in August at a record average FOB value of US$/t 7,409.

Cattle prices remained unchanged for the second consecutive week, with industry list prices at US$ 5.10 per kg for males and US$ 4.90 per kg for cows.

US beef exports reached 89,139 metric tons in July, nearly unchanged from a year ago, while export value increased 6% to US$ 796.7 million, according to USDA data compiled by the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF). Growth was led by Taiwan, with solid results also reported for Mexico, Japan, the Middle East, Colombia, the Caribbean and Southeast Asia. Beef muscle cuts were 65,477 tons at an average value of US$/t 10,563, just below the record of May 2026.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins last week unveiled the Ranchers First Initiative, which combines loans for small processors, more flexible use of conservation land and new livestock insurance support at a time when the US cattle herd is at its lowest level in 75 years.

Margin compression in the beef division, aggravated by tight cattle supplies and price volatility, also prompted Tyson to lower its sales growth target, sending its shares down nearly 8% last Thursday.

US cattle markets showed some improvement late last week despite a series of government announcements that failed to trigger a recovery in cattle futures. According to The AG Center, packers will be buying for a full upcoming week, while producers continue to look to price signals for evidence of a market turnaround.

Compared to the previous market test, US beef import prices were sharply lower on very limited trading. Activity was slow and virtually at a standstill for Australian and New Zealand product.

The European Union confirmed that imports of Brazilian beef will be suspended as of this Thursday, September 3, after deeming the guarantees provided by the country insufficient to comply with the bloc’s new requirements on the use of antimicrobials in animal production. The measure also covers poultry meat, eggs and honey.

Australian beef exports fell year-over-year for the second consecutive month in August, reinforcing the view that the growth trend that began in early 2024 started to fade during the second half of this year.

Australian 90 CL beef trimmings export prices have fallen by around A$ 1.40 per kilogram over the past five weeks, pressured by the U.S. decision to allow an additional 300,000 tons of lean beef —mainly from Brazil— to enter tariff-free over the next three months, Beef Central reported.

Beef exports to China fell sharply in August due to lower shipments from Brazil and Australia, both of which have already exhausted their available quotas for 2026.

China’s General Administration of Customs (GACC) rejected 223,392 kg of imported beef in July, steeply above the just 34 tons of June, but down 22% from the volume reported in May.

South Korean beef imports are forecast to increase 3% in 2027 to 620,000 tons carcass weight equivalent, due to lower domestic production and an expected recovery in consumption, according to the USDA office in Seoul.

The Philippine Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) authorized the commercial sale of AVAC ASF LIVE, the country’s first African swine fever (ASF) vaccine approved for fattening pigs.