China’s appetite for beef is being fed from Down Under after U.S. exports to the country collapsed in the wake of trade tensions.
American beef shipments once worth about $120 million a month have been reduced to a trickle, plunging to just $8.1 million in July and $9.5 million in August—down from over $120 million a year earlier, Chinese customs data show.
The sudden drop followed Beijing’s decision in March to let permits lapse at hundreds of U.S. meat plants, another blow in the ongoing U.S.-China trade spat.
While the U.S. has already been struggling with lower production—droughts shrank the cattle herd and pushed domestic prices to record highs—the China fallout has been far sharper.
Brazil, China’s biggest beef supplier, has stepped up to meet demand. But Australia has been the real beneficiary, with its grain-fed beef closely matching the U.S. product that Chinese buyers once favored.
“The beef impasse with China has very little to do with beef,” said Joe Schuele of the U.S. Meat Export Federation.
“It’s entangled in other issues between the U.S. and China. If they can make progress on those issues, we see more hope for getting this resolved.”
He added that the U.S. is losing out on the “upward pressure of the Chinese bids,” especially for cuts that are harder to sell at home.
Still, even if Washington and Beijing strike a deal tomorrow, the U.S. won’t bounce back quickly. Australian analyst Matt Dalgleish notes that regaining lost ground could take years, underscoring how trade wars can reshape markets faster than herds can replenish.
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