Don Close with Rabo AgriFinance
Reduced imports of lean beef trimmings from Australia and New Zealand have helped push U.S. cattle prices higher.
Rabo AgriFinance animal protein analyst Don Close says Australia
and New Zealand have been shipping more beef to China, which has caused a
significant drop in their shipments of lean beef trimmings to the U.S.
“Imports of New Zealand beef trimmings into the states have
been off roughly a third this year,” Close says, “and we’re expecting to see
those shipments down another third in 2020, just because of the volume of trade
going to China.”
Close says the reduced imports of “manufacturing beef” have led
to sharply higher prices, forcing fast food burger restaurants to use more
domestic beef.
