美国农业部将分阶段恢复墨西哥活牛进口，短期提振肉类加工商情绪

Beef prices in the U.S. could see some relief after the USDA announced that it would allow cattle shipments from Mexico to resume in a phased way, beginning with the Douglas, Arizona, port on August 24 and possibly adding the Santa Teresa and Columbus, New Mexico, ports later if certain conditions are met. The decision was tied to Mexico following a joint animal health plan and to USDA inspections aimed at reducing the risk of New World screwworm entering the U.S. The USDA is using a gradual restart so officials could monitor the risk at each stage and pause the process if needed."The return of those volumes in the coming months is a clear benefit for beef processors in North America," highlighted Barclays analyst Benjamin Theurer. "Combined with recent beef plant closures and a higher supply of cattle, animal prices are likely to come down and present less immediate pressure on North American players," he added.Bank of America also called out the development as a positive for Tyson Foods (TSN), JBS (JBS), and National Beef Packaging (owned by Marfrig) on the expectation that increased cattle availability should improve plant utilization and support beef margins through lower procurement pressure. "We expect limited near-term impact as imported feeder cattle will require time to move through feedlots before becoming slaughter-ready. Therefore, the announcement is more relevant to the medium-term supply/margin outlook," noted analyst Peter Galbo. BofA expects the topic to be a major topic on upcoming earnings calls in the food processing sector.Shares of Tyson Foods (TSN) rallied 6.6% in response to the development, while JBS N.V. (JBS) rose 9.4%. Hormel Foods (HRL) and Pilgrim's Pride (PPC) were both up more than 2%.