The Global Livestock Report

The United Kingdom and India signed a free trade agreement last week during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to London. The deal includes tariff reductions on products ranging from textiles to whisky and automobiles, thereby allowing greater market access for businesses in both countries. The two nations concluded talks on the trade pact in May, after three years of intermittent negotiations.

Compared to the previous market test, US beef import prices remained steady to firm. Trading activity was slow, but moderate to good demand provided price support.

The implications of two critically important trade deals with Japan and the EU have yet to provide any context for beef exports. Trump leads with the headliners and the details follow. They are unlikely to be negative and combined with a bullish Cattle On Feed report, the week will start on a positive note, anticipated the The AG Center.

Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 11.1 million head on July 1, 2025. The inventory was 2 percent below July 1, 2024, informed the USDA in its Cattle On Feed Report for Julye. The inventory included 6.88 million steers and steer calves, up 1 percent from the previous year.

With San Jacinto returning to operations, sheep slaughter rebounded to levels seen two weeks ago. INAC reported that 11,460 sheep were processed in the week ending July 26, up 39% from the previous week (when San Jacinto was inactive) and nearly identical to the volume two weeks earlier.

As anticipated in the previous edition of WBR, cattle slaughter jumped last week, driven by the opening of the production window for the European 481 grainfed quota. INAC reported that 50,931 head of cattle were processed during the week ending July 26, up 10,880 from the previous and nearly 8,400 more than the same week last year.