Uruguay takes the pulse of the meat market in the United States: signals, uncertainty, and opportunities from MICA in Texas

The recent meeting of MICA—the association that brings together importers of meat from the United States—left a series of key definitions and sensations for Uruguay, at a time when the North American market has consolidated itself as one of the main destinations for national beef. From Texas, Dr. Gonzalo Valdés, representative of the Rural Association of Uruguay in the INAC Board, analyzed in Valor Agregado on Carve radio the climate of the meeting and the outlook for 2026. The United States remains the second destination in volume for Uruguay and, at times of the year, even surpassed China. In this scenario, Valdés emphasized that the country is going through a particular moment: rising meat prices, consumption that does not retract, and a historically low cattle stock, the smallest in seven decades. Despite this, the view of the operators is crossed by a strong political component: uncertainty about the measures of the U.S. government, pending rulings of the Supreme Court, and ...