Brazil’s beef exports slow as Chinese demand drops

China’s pullback from the Brazilian beef market is beginning to show in July export figures. Data from Brazil’s Secretariat of Foreign Trade, or Secex, through the third week of the month point to slower shipments as meatpackers seek to avoid exceeding China’s annual quota for Brazilian beef.

Shipments above the quota are subject to an additional 55% tariff, prompting processors to scale back exports once the limit was reached.

Brazil shipped 140,300 metric tons of beef through the third week of July. At the current pace, exports are projected to reach approximately 248,000 metric tons for the month, down from 276,800 metric tons in July 2025. That would represent a year-on-year decline of 10.4%.

Average daily shipments stood at 10,700 metric tons, 10.3% below the 12,030 metric tons exported per day in July last year.

Brazil exported 45,601 TEUs of beef to China over January through May. The chart below provides an overview of Brazil’s beef exports to China in recent years:

Beef Exports to China | Jan 2023 – May 2026 | TEUs

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During the first half of 2026, Brazilian meatpackers accelerated shipments to make the most of China’s import quota, estimated at 1.106 million metric tons for the year.

With the quota now filled, companies have begun slowing production, adjusting slaughter schedules and, in some cases, placing employees on collective leave to avoid exports that would face the higher tariff.

Beef exporters association Abiec now expects the country’s beef exports to fall by around 10% in 2026 from the previous year, mainly because of weaker Chinese demand.

Despite the decline in volume, export revenue reached approximately $896.8 million through the third week of July. Revenue for the whole of July 2025 totaled $1.54 billion.

Average daily revenue rose 3.3% to $68.98 million, compared with $66.80 million during the same period last year.

The average export price reached about $6,387.70 per metric ton, up 15.01% from $5,549.40 per metric ton in July 2025.

Brazil posted record exports of beef and related products in the first half of 2026. Revenue rose 33.4% year on year to $9.93 billion, while shipments increased 7.3% to 1.81 million metric tons.

China remained the leading destination between January and June, importing 774,700 metric tons, up 22.6% from the previous year. Export revenue from the Chinese market climbed 50.3% to $4.82 billion.

China accounted for 48.5% of Brazil’s total revenue from beef and beef-product exports during the period.

Source: CNN

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