US cattle imports for 2009 are predicted to fall to a four-year low of 1.9 million head due to lower prices for domestic fed and feeder stock, caused by unfavourable exchange rates and softer beef demand.
The incentive for Canadian beef producers to export to the US has diminished this year due to lower US price premiums, resulting in feeder cattle imports falling by as much as 50% and slaughter steers and heifers by nearly 20%, according to the USDA’s latest Livestock, Dairy & Poultry Outlook.
Although cattle numbers from Mexico so far this year have risen above the unusually low volume imported in 2008, they remain well below the five-year average.
Drought conditions in the traditional receiving area for imported feeder cattle, the Southern Plains – particularly southern Texas – has also impacted offer prices.
Cattle imports are expected to rise in 2010 to 2.1 million head, according the USDA, due primarily to a forecast improvement in beef demand and a subsequent price incentive for Canada and Mexico to export cattle for further finishing or processing in the US.
Source: MLA.com
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