Processing Beef Insights Brief for the Week Ending May 8, 2026

EMEAT is launching a series of in-depth industry reports, which we have named Insights Briefs. The inaugural edition focuses on Processing Beef. Here is a section of the report that provides a detailed historical perspective on how we reached the point where 80% lean trimming prices are approaching $4.00 per pound.

This preview highlights just a portion of the analysis available in the full report. The complete Insights Brief provides deeper market context, expanded historical trends, and actionable insights to support informed decision-making.

The full report will be available soon as part of EMEAT's growing portfolio of market intelligence products. We hope you enjoy this preview and invite you to check back soon for access to the complete report.

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Where does our processing beef come from?

Domestic Production and Sales

For domestic products, sales of processing beef fall under the USDA “Ungraded” category.

While the USDA includes various cuts under this category, ungraded cattle represent less than 10% of total slaughtered cattle.

Therefore, it is safe to assume that most sales reported by the USDA as "Ungraded" consist of grind and trim (i.e., processing beef).

Sales of ungraded beef in the U.S. have remained fairly steady at approximately 2,500 loads per week, or 430 million pounds per month, as shown in Chart 1 below.

Where does our processing beef come from?

Imported Processing Beef

Assuming that the vast majority of imported frozen beef is for processing, we can use import data from the FAS GATS database to estimate imports of processing beef.

Charts 2 and 3 show that imports more than doubled between the beginning of 2023 and March 2026, rising from 100 million pounds to over 250 million pounds.

Since the U.S. is not an exporter of processing beef, we can conclude that monthly U.S. consumption averages approximately 600 million pounds, with imports representing about one-third of that total.

Long-term perspective: How we got here

Chart 4 illustrates the steady decline in cattle slaughter, dropping from over 600,000 head per week in 2023 to an average of 520,000 over the past few weeks.

This reduction follows the extensive heifer and cow liquidations triggered by the 2020–2024 droughts (Charts 5 & 6).

While the industry has responded to these decreases with heavier cattle (Chart 7), the increased weights have not fully offset the sharp decline in total slaughter (Chart 8).

Cattle imports

The U.S. imports live cattle, mostly from Mexico and Canada.

• Historically, this figure has been around two million head per year, which represents over three weeks of U.S. cattle slaughter.

Imports from Mexico have been impacted since 2025, as the U.S. has imposed import restriction due to the spread of the screwworm disease in Mexico (Table 1).

This excerpt is only part of the full analysis. The complete Insights Brief includes additional historical data, market drivers, pricing trends, and key takeaways designed to help industry participants better understand the forces shaping today's beef markets.

The full report will be available soon through EMEAT.

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