U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday signed a proclamation to hike the country’s low-tariff imports of Argentine beef, though economists have said the attempt to lower costs for American consumers will likely have little impact on prices.
Trump signs proclamation increasing Argentine beef imports
Brazil surpassing U.S. as top beef producer, easing global supply squeeze
Brazil surpassed the U.S. as the world’s top beef producer last year, according to market estimates, after the South American country beat output forecasts by hundreds of thousands of tons, easing a global supply squeeze and helping limit a surge in meat prices.
Want to track the cattle industry? Follow the heifers
Beef analysts look beyond the crystal ball to heifer data and consumer debt
Reading Time: 2 minutes Beef specialists examine key indicators in Canadian market for growth patterns in cattle markets
Maritime beef producers get price protection
Two-year pilot gives Maritime producers an equivalent program to the rest of the country
Producers in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, and soon Nova Scotia, will have access to a program that will allow them to purchase insurance on price protection for their beef cattle in case of an unforeseen market disruption.
Few winners despite big jump in cattle prices
While prices are the highest in eight years, it’s a different story when it comes to margins
Reading Time: 3 minutes Cattle prices are the highest in years, with record production despite a contracting national herd. These should be signs of health in Canada’s beef sector, but instead there’s pain throughout the value chain, says an industry expert. “The number of winners in an inflationary price environment are actually few and far between because all of […] Read more
Cheaper cattle but pricier beef
An industry-sponsored study will look at methods to determine more transparency across the sector
Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s a big question that no one can answer. Why is there such a big difference between what consumers pay for beef and what producers receive for their animals? Alberta Beef Producers general manager Brad Dubeau knows it is a major issue. “We need to do some background work,” he said. Alberta Agriculture and Forestry […] Read more
Beef pricing to be reviewed
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Beef Producers, the Alberta Cattle Feeders’ Association, and the Canadian Cattle Association are undertaking “an Alberta beef competitiveness study.” The groups say the study “will seek to understand the apparent lack of packing capacity.” It will focus on three areas: barriers to entry and expansion for the packing sector; confidentiality concerns in regard to […] Read more
Quebec group seeks to sue beef packers over pricing
Group's class-action application alleges price-fixing dating back to 2015
A Quebec consumer protection group intends to launch a class action lawsuit against four major beef processors in Canada and the U.S., alleging a “meat pricing conspiracy.” “At a time of high inflation, it is unacceptable to make the price of beef even more expensive than it already is,” Sylvie De Bellefeuille, a lawyer for […] Read more
Cattle producers have the beef but aren’t getting the bucks
Producers are used to the cattle cycle but this one is extreme — and extremely painful
Reading Time: 4 minutes Beef prices are sky high, but that money is not trickling down into the hands of cattle producers. “I’ve been getting lots of calls from producers on why there’s such a difference on the price at the packer level and at the retail level,” said Melanie Wowk, chair of Alberta Beef Producers. “Our prices at […] Read more
Cattle producers struggle but beef suppliers are doing just fine
Wholesale beef prices at record levels but those strong prices haven’t made their way to producers
Reading Time: 3 minutes The good news is that beef prices are extremely strong, even in the face of record beef production in North America. “We have record-high wholesale beef prices right now,” CANFAX manager and senior analyst Brian Perillat said at the recent (and virtual) Canadian Beef Industry Conference. Unfortunately, cattle prices are just not responding. “That’s been […] Read more