Meat — Market Analysis
QAA Intelligence provides market analysis, price trends, supply-demand insight and trading intelligence for the global meat market, with a focus on beef and cattle benchmarks.
Price Trend
Recent price history (last 14 days)
| Date | Price |
|---|---|
| 2026-10-03 23:30 GST | 221.48 US¢/lb |
| 2026-10-04 23:30 GST | 221.48 US¢/lb |
| 2026-10-05 23:00 GST | 219.98 US¢/lb |
| 2026-10-06 23:30 GST | 224.05 US¢/lb |
| 2026-10-07 23:30 GST | 223.70 US¢/lb |
| 2026-10-08 23:30 GST | 223.70 US¢/lb |
| 2026-10-09 23:30 GST | 227.10 US¢/lb |
| 2026-10-10 23:30 GST | 227.05 US¢/lb |
| 2026-10-11 23:30 GST | 227.05 US¢/lb |
| 2026-10-12 23:30 GST | 226.58 US¢/lb |
| 2026-10-13 23:30 GST | 226.35 US¢/lb |
| 2026-10-14 23:30 GST | 225.15 US¢/lb |
| 2026-10-15 23:30 GST | 227.20 US¢/lb |
| 2026-10-16 13:00 GST | 227.25 US¢/lb |
Meat Market Overview
Global meat trade is shaped by feed costs, herd cycles that take years to expand or contract, and animal-health events that can disrupt supply in a specific region overnight.
Global Supply & Demand
Cattle herd rebuilding after a drought or disease event can take several years, so supply responds slowly to price signals, while demand growth is closely tied to income levels in emerging markets.
Major Producing Countries
The United States, Brazil, Australia and the European Union are among the world's major beef-producing markets, with different production systems and export profiles.
Major Importing Markets
The Middle East and North Africa are significant import markets for frozen and chilled beef, including Halal-certified products -- a core part of QAA's meat sourcing lines.
Key Factors Affecting Meat Prices
Feed grain costs, herd-size cycles, animal-health outbreaks, and Halal certification/logistics requirements for Middle East-bound shipments are the factors that most directly affect meat prices for QAA's markets.
Meat Market Outlook
QAA Intelligence tracks daily futures data, official government benchmarks and structured news monitoring to surface shifts in the meat market as they happen.
Global Benchmarks
Other market references -- different source, currency, unit or basis from the headline benchmark; not directly comparable with it.
Latest News
Market Analysis & Outlook
CME Live Cattle futures are currently flat at 221.475 cents/lb versus the prior session, showing no 24-hour move despite the detected Brent crude drop. Livestock futures are driven primarily by herd supply, feed costs, and demand fundamentals rather than short-term crude swings, so the oil move has not transmitted into cattle pricing yet. Headlines point to a historically small U.S. cattle herd and lower beef production, which are structurally bullish for cattle prices, while diesel costs remain a cited input-cost concern for producers and logistics. Feeder cattle futures (331.15 cents/lb) and USDA 5-area cash prices (~220-221 USD/cwt live, ~348 USD/cwt dressed) are broadly consistent with the live futures level, suggesting no immediate dislocation. The freight-cost link from crude to meat is indirect and lagged, and the current data does not show evidence of pass-through.
Outlook: Near-term cattle prices are likely to stay range-bound given the flat 24h reading, with structural support from tight herd supply offset by input-cost pressures; no clear directional catalyst from the oil move is evident yet.
Data Coverage: HighWant the drivers, signals and outlook behind these numbers? QAA Commodity Advisory covers meat every two weeks. Buying it? QAA supplies meat from its own supplier network and manages the whole supply chain: see Meat sourcing. For any other product, QAA Trade Services buys it from your supplier, or one we find for you, then ships and delivers it.