Decline in the US imported beef market

There was reportedly very little trade in the spot and short term US imported beef market this week, with low interest from buyers forcing Australian and other exporters to drop their asking prices. Most categories in the imported market were cheaper, particularly at the lean end of the spectrum, while some cuts were not traded enough to generate a quote.

This week, the 90CL cow beef indicator dropped 4US¢, to 207US¢ lb CIF (with the higher A$ exacerbating the change, down 16.4A¢, to 601.7A¢/kg CIF).

While there was a strong pick-up in retail activity for beef through June and July, the height of summer has now arrived, bringing excessive heat and humidity to large parts of the US (referred to by some US market commentators as the “dog days of summer”). As a result, grilling at home slows down, and retail activity with it.

The other major news this week is the agreement between the US and Brazil to resume the beef trade between the two countries. MLA has a brief summary of the situation available here, while there is also a summary of events and steps still to come in this week’s report from the Steiner Consulting Group.