Reports from Meat Importers’ Council of America (MICA) Annual Conference being held in San Francisco this week suggest Brazil could be exporting up to 80,000t of beef to the US in 2017. The view was offered by Len Steiner from Steiner Consulting Group who provide comprehensive weekly analysis of the US beef trade and imports to the US, in his address to the conference on Tuesday.

Such volumes would exceed the quota available of 64,000t under which Ireland and a number of other countries, especially Paraguay, supply beef to the US. Anything supplied by Brazil over 64,000t will be subject to tariff of over 26%.

As the quota is allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, if Brazil is in early with its beef, then Ireland would miss out. Our relatively small volumes of beef exported to the US are spread evenly over the year, with just 1,169t exported this year up to end of July, according to CSO figures.

Bord Bia international markets director Padraig Brennan addressed the MICA where he focused on the benefits to importers of Origin Green. The conference was attended by 300 key US industry influencers, including all leading US beef importers.