The imposition of import quotas on meat in China did nothing but fuel the fire.

Following the imposition of quotas on the import of beef by the Chinese government to protect its producers and industrialists, importers in that country have gone all out to compete for a scarce commodity in the global market. “They are not eating it, they are stockpiling it out of fear of running out of the product in a few months,” explained an operator in the business. The main indicator of this situation is the price of beef. The six-cut cow, which is the most common form of beef export from Argentina to that country, is being paid for at $6,000 per ton. This value represents a 20% increase from the $5,000 that was being paid just a few weeks ago. The quotas defined amount to 2.7 million tons, whereas last year China imported 3.3 million tons. If the quota is not expanded, beef imports this year would be much lower than the market's needs and that would affirm the prices. Moreover, Brazil, which is China’s main supplier and the world’s leading exporter, would have 400,000 ...