NCBA Renews Call for Suspension of Brazilian Beef Imports

Following the recent USDA report highlighting an increase in Brazilian beef imports, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) renewed its call for the immediate suspension of fresh beef imports from Brazil. NCBA has repeatedly called for a thorough audit of Brazil’s animal health and food safety system, to ensure the safety of the U.S. cattle herd. In 2021, Brazilian exports to the United States increased by 131 percent. In the first three months of 2022, Brazil has already shipped more than 50,000 metric tons of fresh beef to the...

JD Fresh Partners with World’s Largest Meat Supplier JBS

JBS, the world’s largest meat supplier, partnered with JD Fresh, JD.com’s fresh food business, marking the Brazil-based meat supplier’s first foray into retail business in China. Under the partnership, JBS will launch a flagship store on JD.com.

With 220 factories across the world, JBS offers a wide selection of beef products from many countries, such as Brazil, the United States, Australia, and more.

Through the partnership, JD Fresh will help JBS connect with over 550 million customers on JD.com, providing Chinese consumers with diverse and high-quality choices of meat...

NCBA Urges Vilsack to Halt Brazilian Beef Imports

Today, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) called on Secretary Vilsack to immediately suspend all imports of fresh beef from Brazil to the United States.

In the letter to USDA, NCBA asked for a suspension until the agency conducts a thorough risk assessment and review of the processes that Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Food Supply (MAPA) uses to detect disease and other threats to consumers. NCBA also urged USDA to review Brazil's veterinary diagnostic laboratory system.

"It's time to keep Brazilian fresh beef out of this country until USDA can..."

Traders Assess Suspension of Brazilian Beef Exports to China Due to BSE

Over the weekend, the agriculture ministry reported that Brazil has suspended beef exports to China after confirming two cases of “atypical” bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in two domestic meat plants. BSE, also referred to as mad cow disease, is a fatal neurodegenerative disease of cattle that is transmitted through contaminated feed. The two cases recently confirmed in Brazil were “atypical” since the disease appeared “spontaneously and sporadically, unrelated to the ingestion of contaminated food”, according to the agriculture ministry. 

It is not yet certain when Brazilian beef exports to China will resume. The ministry stated there was no risk to animal or human health.

BSE was first diagnosed in 1986 in the United Kingdom and has since been detected in other countries. The first known case of BSE in the United States occurred in 2003 and resulted in the loss of most of the United States’ beef exports in 2004. 

Brazil was the world's largest beef exporter in 2020. The indefinite suspension of Brazilian beef exports to China could be supportive of U.S. beef exports if the ban is not resolved quickly...

Meatpacker JBS Takes Plunge Into Seafood Industry with $300 Million Huon Aquaculture Purchase

Brazil-based meatpacking giant JBS has agreed to purchase Australian salmon farmer Huon Aquaculture for AU$425 million (US$313 million).

Huon said JBS will acquire 100% of Huon for a cash consideration of $3.85 per share. The share price is a 61% premium over the closing price of $2.39, which was the last traded price before the company announced a strategic review on February 26.

The board at Huon Aquaculture unanimously recommended the move to sell to the world’s largest meat...

Pork Quarterly Q3 2021: Looking for Growth Amid Uncertainties

Great volatility in Chinese hog and pork prices is rippling through the global market. China’s slaughter rates were unexpectedly high in Q2, pushing pork production up 35.9% YOY in 1H, according to official data. The sudden supply increase resulted in a sharp price decline and negative results in both farming and trading in 1H, pointing to low pork imports into China in Q3. While we expect hog and pork prices to rebound in Q3, the estimated high frozen pork inventory will impose a lot of downward pressure on prices. We expect the slowdown of imports in the coming months will reduce full year imports from 2020’s record levels by 10% to 20%. This will lead to a redistribution of pork trade in the global market and could place downward pressure on pork prices in exporting regions.

Beef Quarterly Q2 2021: Record Prices, but Will They Last?

Many key beef production and consumption areas across the world are currently experiencing high or record prices for beef or cattle. We explore what is driving this and whether it will last. There are also several other issues affecting global beef markets at present.

Covid-19

The rollout of vaccines, the transition to robust economic growth, and the advance of the northern hemisphere summer see many areas experiencing lower Covid case numbers and higher economic activity. With restrictions being eased, foodservice sales are also...