US cattle imports to hit four-year low

US cattle imports this year are expected to drop to a four-year low of 1.9 million head due to lower prices for domestic fed and feeder stock caused by unfavourable exchange rates and weaker beef demand.

Canadian beef producers have less incentive to export to the US due to lower price premiums. That has caused feeder cattle imports to fall by as much as 50 percent and slaughter steers and heifers by nearly 20 percent, according to the USDA.

Cattle numbers from Mexico have so far increased above the unusually low volume imported in 2008 but they remain well below the five-year average.

Drought conditions in the traditional receiving area for imported feeder cattle, the Southern Plains - particularly southern Texas - have also impacted offer prices.

Cattle imports are expected to rise in 2010 to 2.1 million head mainly due to an expected improvement in beef demand and a subsequent price incentive for Canada and Mexico to export cattle for further finishing or processing in the US, said the USDA.