Overview
- Live-cattle imports from Mexico remain partly suspended nearly a year after a screwworm outbreak triggered tighter controls.
- Mexico’s agriculture secretary reported advances in Washington talks yet said conditions are not in place to set a reopening date.
- Mexican cattle shipments have historically topped one million head a year, about 60% of U.S. live-cattle imports and roughly 3% of the national herd.
- U.S. cattle inventories are at multi-decade lows and retail beef prices have set records, with June averages at $6.12 per pound for ground beef and $11.49 for steak, according to Texas Farm Bureau and BLS data.
- Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller called for immediate resumption, sent the White House a plan to expand grazing and offer tax incentives, and argued increased Argentine beef imports would have limited market impact.