INAC projects a year "equal to or better" for beef
The National Meat Institute (INAC) projects a great 2026, which would be "equal to or better than last year and its exceptional results for Uruguay's main export product: a bullish international market, the mission to China and new authorizations and quotas, the keys to what is expected to be a great period.
Uruguay 's official mission to China provided the political and institutional support that INAC (National Meat Institute) had hoped for after its own hard work to continue promoting Uruguayan beef in its main market. According to the institute's president, Gastón Scayola, the mission was "very successful" and "renews and strengthens" the bilateral relationship in trade, cultural, and cooperation areas. Furthermore, President Yamandú Orsi 's presence during the organization's activities in Shanghai was a sign of strong support that "greatly facilitates" promotional efforts for this year.
In that regard, the official explained about three concrete advances: the significant quota granted by China, which opens up “very good” commercial opportunities; the authorization of poultry meat for export to the Asian country and the opening for bovine gallstones, a product of “very low volume but very high value”, and in high demand for traditional Chinese medicine; and the authorization of some plants for tripe, which should be able to be finalized in the coming months.
Looking ahead to 2026, Scayola stated that the scenario for beef should be "quite similar to 2025," with a chance of being "the same or better," as he sees no signs of a downturn in the market, consumption in China continues to grow, and production in the United States and the European Union (EU) remains stable or is declining.
“ Global demand is expected to remain strong, and that suggests prices will too,” he noted. Regarding this, Uruguay believes the Chinese quota and the European market are “on track,” leading to a “good” outlook for 2026. The “only factor” to monitor is the potential adjustment that the increased US quota for Argentine might generate.
According to the minister, the country must make progress "in all markets" and stressed that the United States continues to be a strategic destination for beef, in addition to the fact that the agreement with Argentine revived expectations of achieving an expansion of the quota.
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