Beef Market Outlook (Baptiste Buczinski)
Here we bring you our monthly Beef Market Outlook from June to ensure you stay well-informed on the latest updates. Don’t miss out the prices in the world beef cattle markets. Here, we deliver crucial information as we analyze key trends shaping the industry landscape.
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CURRENT GLOBAL BEEF MARKET PRICES
Cattle prices are still decreasing in China, due to a weaker economic. The decrease of beef prices in Brazil is slower, since exports are strong. In Europe and the US, beef prices remained quite high in May, from lack of supply.

EUROPE MARKET BEEF PRICE
Prices for young male beef slightly increased in May 2024 (+7 US$ /April 2024) getting back to its March level, because of the lack of cattle ready to slaughter in the EU. Export demand remains strong in Turkey and Orthodox Easter (on May 5) revived the Greek demand for imported meat, mainly coming from other EU Member States.


BRAZIL CURRENT BEEF MARKET
In May, male beef prices continued to weaken, but twice more slowly than a month earlier: -2% between April and May (in US$). Fat cattle prices are decreasing more slowly because Brazilian meat exports are speeding up, which helps the fatteners, since local consumers are still impacted by loss of purchasing power and asking for less meat. Winter in the Southern Hemisphere (i.e. in Brazil) means more cattle going to slaughterhouse, which puts downward pressure on fed cattle prices at this time of the year.


CHINA MARKET PRICE: BEEF
Chinese market price on beef were still falling in May 2024 (-30% / May 2023 and -6% / April 2024, in US$). The beef demand in China is sluggish because of the economic situation post-covid (real-estate crisis and unemployment high for young people). The steady increase of beef production and imports in the last years has also brought up a surplus of beef, driving the local beef prices quickly down. Nevertheless, the added beef imports of China and Hong-Kong during the first 4 months of 2024, remain dynamic, with a 11% increase, compared to 2023 (Chinese Customs).


USA CURRENT BEEF MARKET PRICES
In April, finished steer prices in the 5 areas had declined 1% in a month, after detection of avian influenza on dairy cows at the end of March (no beef cattle found with HPAI). In May, beef market prices of live finished steers were up 1% compared to April, and 6% up year over year. Meatpackers are reluctant to pay more than this for cattle, since domestic demand is still sluggish, due to inflation. Therefore, cattle carcass weights are going up and the number of cattle on feed for more than 150 days was 21% higher on April the 1st than one year earlier.

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