Mercosur countries supply 76% of beef imported by China

According to Chinese customs data, 294,796 tons of beef entered the country in July, of which 224,366 tons came from Mercosur. 201,705 tons of frozen boneless meat arrived from South American countries at an average price of US $5,283 per ton, 25,433 tons came from Oceania countries at an average price of US$6,793 per ton, and 10,227 tons from the United States at an average price of US$8,243 per ton.

The main supplier of frozen boneless meat today is Brazil . At the same time, Uruguay predominates in the supply of frozen meat on the bone and offal, and Australia – in chilled meat.

Uruguay exported 44,000 tonnes of beef last month, up 19% from last year and the first year-on-year increase after 13 consecutive months of declines. Despite this, Uruguay's eight-month cumulative exports totalled 311,000 tonnes, down 16% from the same period in 2022, mainly due to lower purchases from China (-27%) and Israel (-40%), but partly offset by increases in the United States (17%) and Chile (9%).

Brazil's beef production could grow 8% in 2023. This estimate is based on aggregate data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Brazil, which projects that Brazil's beef production in 2023 will be 11.16 million tons, representing an 8% increase from last year.

Similarly, meat production could further increase slightly to 11.38 million tonnes by 2024 , thanks to increased slaughter, improved economic conditions for local consumers and strong external demand, particularly from China.

"Another element that favors increased beef production in Brazil is that the country's major competitors, such as the United States, the European Union, Argentina and Uruguay, are expected to reduce production by 2023," the USDA report said.

In Australia, beef cattle prices have fallen significantly this year after record highs reached in 2022. However, the decline in retail prices has not yet fully reflected this fall. Comparing the latest quarter to the same period last year, there was a 7.1% increase in store sales in volume terms, with an average retail price decline of 4.9%.