Attendees at the 2017 Food and Hotel China trade show watch USMEF chefs prepare U.S. beef and pork. (USMEF.org)

U.S. meat groups fear for market growth with China beef tariff hike

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — China’s proposal on Wednesday for tariffs on U.S. beef confirmed the worst-case scenario for the U.S. cattle industry, trade groups said Wednesday, even as they remained hopeful the dispute could be resolved quickly. China listed U.S. goods from soybeans to beef that could potentially incur a 25 per cent import tariff […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle down, but off seven-week lows

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle slid to a seven-week bottom on Thursday, led by fund liquidation, traders said. Futures’ discount to this week’s slaughter-ready, or cash, cattle prices freed contracts from session lows, they said. April closed 1.2 cents/lb. at 121.775 cents (all figures US$). June finished 1.55 cents lower at […] Read more

(PortMetroVancouver.com)

Officials aim to forge ahead with TPP as Canada wavers

Reading Time: 3 minutes Tokyo | Reuters — As trade officials gather in Tokyo this week to try and forge ahead with a trade pact that U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned last year, the new 11-member club risks getting bogged down by resistance from Canada. The member countries of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), also […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle futures sag

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures edged lower on Friday to snap a five-session climb, pressured by technical selling and uncertainty about cash price direction, given that cash cattle did not trade ahead of the closing bell, brokers said. However, after the futures market closed, fed cattle traded lightly in cash markets […] Read more

Dennis Laycraft. (John Greig photo)

TPP seen critical for beef sales growth in Japan

Reading Time: 3 minutes Canadian beef producers could be out millions of dollars in new exports if Canada is shut out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Why is it important? Beef exports, especially from Ontario, have been growing significantly to Japan and elsewhere in Asia. Allowing other competitors such as Mexico and New Zealand better access to that market, […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle slump, cash prices disappoint

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle on Thursday reversed some of their recent gains, pressured by profit-taking following this week’s initial cash prices that fell short of expectations, said traders. To avoid cattle deliveries, some investors sold the October contract either outright or simultaneously bought deferred months in a trading strategy known […] Read more



Taste-testing during a Canadian Beef Advantage Seminar in Shanghai in 2013. (Canada Beef via YouTube)

U.S., China accelerate beef talks

Reading Time: 3 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Talks on restarting U.S. beef exports to China are moving fast and final details should be in place by early June, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Friday, allowing U.S. farmers to vie for business that has been lost by rival Brazil. As part of a trade deal, U.S. ranchers […] Read more

(JBSS.infoinvest.com.br)

‘Operation Weak Flesh’ takes bite out of Brazil’s meat exports

Reading Time: 2 minutes Sao Paulo | Reuters –– Brazil’s meat exports have fallen sharply since a police investigation into alleged bribery of food-sanitation inspectors in the world’s top beef and poultry exporter sparked a wave of trade bans, an industry group said on Friday. Import restrictions by several key importers of Brazilian meat, ranging from China to Europe, […] Read more