Brazil is set to exhaust its annual beef export quota to China by early May, industry officials said, as cattle prices hit a nominal record and Beijing’s import restrictions forced exporters across South America to scramble for alternative markets.
The benchmark price for finished cattle tracked by the Centre for Advanced Studies on Applied Economics at the University of Sao Paulo reached R$365 (US$71.57) per arroba (per 11.5-15kg) on Wednesday, a gain of 12.5 per cent over the past 12 months, driven by a rush to ship before the quota window closes.
Brazil exported 233,950 tonnes of fresh beef in March, the highest volume ever recorded for the month, according to data from the Secretariat of Foreign Trade.
The daily average of 10,630 tonnes was 8.6 per cent above March 2025 and 40.7 per cent above the same period in 2024. Monthly export revenue reached around R$7 billion (US$1.37 billion), with an average price of R$29,900 (US$5,863) per tonne.
China announced in December that beef imports above a fixed country-by-country ceiling in 2026 would face a 55 per cent tariff, sharply above the standard 12 per cent rate. Brazil’s allocation was set at 1.106 million tonnes.
Shipments above that threshold are considered commercially unviable by industry participants.
