The Trump administration says it is considering purchasing beef from Argentina to help lower retail prices in the U.S. The President made his comments aboard Air Force One on Sunday.
Ethan Lane, executive vice president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association says there are ongoing concerns about beef coming in from South American countries.
“They have not been, what we call, stellar trading partners in the beef side,” he says. “Certainly, I think this giving a lot of producers around the country pause.”
He tells Brownfield, “We all understand the concern about grocery store prices. Inflation is something we’re dealing with across the economy, but the best way to deal with that is by letting the market work. By letting those market signals make their way through the supply chain in an organic way.”
Bill Bullard, CEO of R-CALF USA, says importing more beef is a short-term band-aid that will be detrimental to the long-term health of the cattle industry.
“We urge the president to protect the domestic industry from excessive price depressing imports, so our industry can rebuild and expand to meet domestic consumption,” he says.
Josh Maples, an ag economist with Mississippi State University Extension says the lack of detail becomes problematic for the markets.
“Volatility is the reaction that markets tend to have whenever they’re faced with uncertainty,” he says. “I would say that’s what we’re currently faced with.”
Cattle futures closed sharply lower on Friday, but have been much more cautious to start the week.
