Cattle industry leaders and producers gathered in Nashville for the recent 2026 Cattle Industry Convention. While attendees talked through many issues, a top-of-mind challenge for the industry is the continued lockout of U.S. beef from the Chinese market. Erin Borror, vice president of economic analysis for the U.S. Meat Export Federation, said there has been almost no progress on the issue. Even with low cattle numbers, access to China is vital for maintaining the value across the whole carcass.
“Unfortunately for China, we don’t have any type of breakthrough news, but just explaining to the producers the situation there and kind of the complicated market closure that we’re dealing with, but also explaining further the importance of the China market, and that we still need to get that market back, including in this time in the cattle cycle, and the need to be able to export, even with relatively low supplies. You’ve got to have that market to be able to add value back to the whole industry. And we also touched on the affordability component and trying to sort of re-message the need for access to also benefit the American consumer. So updating on how we’ve been talking with DC about, again, the benefits, not just for our industry, but also for the consumer, when we have the ability to export and really add that full value across the whole carcass.”
Jay Theiler, chair of the U.S. Meat Export Federation, recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to discuss the issue with the USDA and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. He said the government is fully engaged on the issue and understands the importance to U.S. producers.
“The China market is important, not just for the actual market itself, but the fact that being a bidder in the market helps with the whole value of the carcass, that those cuts that go overseas and those other Asian markets. I can tell you, from being back with folks in DC at USTR that are engaged in these negotiations to help us with market access, they are completely dedicated. They understand the beef market. They understand our challenges. I can honestly say, even if the markets don’t open automatically overnight, they are working on it day in and day out.”
China continues to refuse to renew registrations for U.S. beef production and cold storage facilities. Most U.S. beef production has been locked out of China since March.