The US beef market traded negatively this week with prices for topside, rump and striploin declining by 3.4%, 5.8% and 1% respectively.

In April global food prices rose to their highest level in almost a year, led by meat and dairy prices.

The South Africa-China wool trade story is back in the headlines, but this time around in a good way. Nearly two months since the Chinese authorities temporarily suspended wool imports from South Africa because of the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak earlier in the year, the country’s authorities issued a notification on May 8 stating that the ban will be lifted that same day.

According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, global milk output in 2018 is estimated at 843 million tonnes, an increase of 2.2 percent from 2017, driven by production expansions in India, Turkey, the European Union, Pakistan, the United States and Argentina, but partially offset by declines in China and Ukraine, among few others.

Week-on-week US beef prices of topside, rump and chuck declined by 5.2%, 4.2% and 6.5% respectively while prices of striploin and brisket increased by 0.5% and 1,3% respectively.

Beef: Week-on-week US prices for rump, striploin and brisket increased by 2.1%, 6.3% and 0.3% respectively. US Chuck prices experienced  the largest price decline this week decreasing by 6.1% compared to last week.