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Imported US beef market continues to slide
03 September 2015
Imported US beef prices continued to slide this week, as many end users were uncertain of market direction now the 85% Australian beef quota threshold has been triggered.
After the threshold was reached (31 August), there are 10 days for Australian exporters that have quota available to transfer/trade their share, causing somewhat of a holding pattern in trade.
This week, imported 90CL beef prices averaged 233.5US¢/lb, down 3.5¢ from last week (727.1A¢/kg, down 1.1A¢/kg).
From an Australian cattle market point of view, while the quota constraints may place some downward pressure on the market over the coming weeks, the reduced weekly cattle slaughter and A$ dipping to 70US¢ – a six year low – is likely to alleviate some of the pressure. Additionally, grinding beef supplies in the US remain limited.
