US beef imports by country Q1 2026: How much did US import?

Key takeaways about US beef imports by country

• The United States imported US$4,227.5 million of beef (HS 0201 and 0202) in Q1 2026, up 31.2% from Q1 2025, according to TradeInt's US import data. Volume rose 18.1% and the average unit value rose 11.1%.
• Australia remained the largest supplier (24.5%), but Brazil gained the most ground: its share rose from 10.8% to 14.0%, even though most Brazilian beef paid a 26.4% over-quota duty.
• Canada was the only top-five supplier to lose volume (−7.0%), and its share fell from 21.4% to 16.7%. Mexico, growing 36.7%, is closing the gap.
• Lean frozen beef drives the market. Frozen boneless beef (HS 020230) made up 52.5% of import value, and its unit value rose across almost every major supplier.

Which country does the US import most beef from? US beef import data from TradeInt global trade data

Australia is the largest source of US beef imports, supplying US$1,035.7 million, or 24.5% of the total, in Q1 2026, based on TradeInt's US import data. The top five suppliers (Australia, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and New Zealand) accounted for 81.8%.

The supply map has two halves. Canada and Mexico ship mostly fresh or chilled beef overland, duty-free under USMCA. Australia, Brazil, New Zealand and South America ship mostly frozen lean beef by sea. Most of that frozen beef is destined for ground beef production.

Top 5 beef suppliers to the United States (Q1 2026):

1. Australia – US$1,035.7M (24.5% share, +31.6% YoY): The anchor supplier of lean frozen beef, and increasingly of higher-value chilled beef.
2. Canada – US$708.0M (16.7% share, +2.6% YoY): Still the largest source of chilled beef, but the only top-five supplier shipping less than a year ago.
3. Mexico – US$651.1M (15.4% share, +36.7% YoY): The fastest-growing chilled supplier, with growth driven mainly by volume.
4. Brazil – US$591.0M (14.0% share, +70.4% YoY): The biggest share gainer, competing on price even after tariffs.
5. New Zealand – US$472.9M (11.2% share, +18.9% YoY): Flat volumes but sharply higher prices, a sign of how tight lean beef supply has become.

The rest of the top 10 were Uruguay (US$280.6M, 6.6%), Argentina (US$170.3M, 4.0%), Nicaragua (US$141.9M, 3.4%), Paraguay (US$100.1M, 2.4%) and Japan (US$37.0M, 0.9%). Together, the top 10 supplied 99.1% of US beef imports.

Beyond the top five, smaller Latin American suppliers grew fastest. Argentina more than doubled (+109.1%) while a new 80,000-ton quota for Argentine lean trimmings opened its first tranche on February 13, 2026, under a presidential proclamation. Demand for that quota was strong: the quarterly tranche was fully used by late September, according to USDA's Economic Research Service. Nicaragua (+67.9%) and Paraguay (+51.4%) also expanded quickly. Japan was the only top-10 supplier to decline (−11.0%); its unit value is about six times the import average, which marks it as a small premium niche rather than a volume supplier.

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Top 1: Australia at US$1,035.7 million

Australia's US beef sales rose 31.6% to US$1,035.7 million, and its share held steady at 24.5% (24.4% a year earlier). Australia supplies 27.9% of all frozen boneless beef the US imports, more than any other country, so its shipments set the tone for the lean trimmings market.

Top US beef imports from Australia by HS code (Q1 2026):

• HS 020230 – Boneless beef, frozen: US$619.4M, 59.8% of Australia's total, +23.3% YoY
• HS 020130 – Boneless beef, fresh or chilled: US$403.3M, 38.9%, +45.8% YoY
• HS 020220 – Bone-in beef cuts, frozen: US$7.3M, 0.7%

A few notable patterns in the US-Australia beef trade:

• Chilled beef is outpacing frozen: Chilled boneless sales rose 45.8%, almost twice the 23.3% growth in frozen boneless. Chilled beef carries a unit value about 1.7 times higher, so Australia's US mix is shifting toward higher-value product.
• Frozen growth is mostly price: Frozen boneless volume rose only 6.7%, while its unit value rose 15.5%. US buyers are paying more per unit for Australian lean beef rather than receiving much more of it.
• Plenty of supply behind it: Meat & Livestock Australia expects 2026 cattle slaughter of 9.45 million head, the highest since 1978, after record beef exports in 2025 in which the US was Australia's largest market. Beef + Lamb New Zealand also expects Australian beef that has hit China's quota limit to be redirected to the US.

Top 2: Canada at US$708.0 million

Canada is still the largest supplier of chilled boneless beef to the US, with 34.3% of that category. But its US beef sales grew just 2.6% to US$708.0 million while the market grew 31.2%, and its share fell from 21.4% to 16.7%.

Top US beef imports from Canada by HS code (Q1 2026):

• HS 020130 – Boneless beef, fresh or chilled: US$569.0M, 80.4% of Canada's total, +7.4% YoY
• HS 020120 – Bone-in beef cuts, fresh or chilled: US$85.4M, 12.1%, −16.4% YoY
• HS 020230 – Boneless beef, frozen: US$40.2M, 5.7%, −6.6% YoY

A few notable patterns in the US-Canada beef trade:

• Less beef, higher prices: Total volume fell 7.0%. Chilled boneless volume fell 3.7% while its unit value rose 11.5%, so price alone kept Canada's sales from shrinking.
• Bone-in cuts are retreating: Chilled bone-in sales fell 16.4%, and frozen boneless volume dropped 31.7%.
• A herd being rebuilt: Canadian beef enters the US duty-free under USMCA with no quota, so market access is not the constraint. Statistics Canada counted 11.1 million cattle on January 1, 2026, up 2.5%, with beef heifers kept for breeding up 4.8%. Holding heifers back to rebuild the herd reduces the cattle available for slaughter in the short term.

Top 3: Mexico at US$651.1 million

Mexico's US beef sales jumped 36.7% to US$651.1 million, lifting its share from 14.8% to 15.4%. In Q1 2025 Mexico trailed Canada by US$213.6 million; in Q1 2026 the gap was US$56.9 million.

Top US beef imports from Mexico by HS code (Q1 2026):

• HS 020130 – Boneless beef, fresh or chilled: US$438.7M, 67.4% of Mexico's total, +50.5% YoY
• HS 020120 – Bone-in beef cuts, fresh or chilled: US$171.8M, 26.4%, +12.3% YoY
• HS 020230 – Boneless beef, frozen: US$33.9M, 5.2%, +29.9% YoY

A few notable patterns in the US-Mexico beef trade:

• Volume-led growth: Chilled boneless sales rose 50.5%, with volume up 37.5%, the largest volume gain among the three main chilled suppliers (Australia +28.3%, Canada −3.7%).
• The bone-in specialist: Mexico supplies 64.1% of all chilled bone-in beef the US imports, a category where Canada's sales fell.
• Cattle stay home, beef heads north: With US southern ports closed to Mexican live cattle because of New World screwworm, more cattle were fed and slaughtered in Mexico and exported as beef, primarily to the US, according to USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service. FAS expects Mexico's beef exports to rise from 324,000 tons in 2025 to 400,000 tons in 2026.

Top 4: Brazil at US$591.0 million

Brazil was the biggest share gainer among US beef suppliers. Its sales rose 70.4% to US$591.0 million, and its share climbed from 10.8% to 14.0%. Almost 90% of it is frozen boneless beef, which makes Brazil the second-largest source of US lean frozen beef after Australia, with 23.9% of that category. USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service calls Brazil the world's largest beef exporter, and the US was its second-largest market in 2025.

Top US beef imports from Brazil by HS code (Q1 2026):

• HS 020230 – Boneless beef, frozen: US$529.6M, 89.6% of Brazil's total, +63.2% YoY
• HS 020130 – Boneless beef, fresh or chilled: US$61.2M, 10.4%, +173.6% YoY
• HS 020220 – Bone-in beef cuts, frozen: US$0.2M, less than 0.1%

A few notable patterns in the US-Brazil beef trade:

• Competitive even after tariffs: Brazil ships under the shared "other countries" quota, which USTR cut to 52,005 tons for 2026 and which was full by January 6, according to USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service. After that, Brazilian beef pays a 26.4% over-quota duty. Yet Brazil's frozen boneless unit value was 23% below Australia's, and even with the 26.4% duty added it remained about 3% below Australia's duty-free product.
• Volume and price both rose: Frozen boneless volume rose 39.2% and its unit value rose 17.3%. US buyers took much more Brazilian lean beef and still paid more for it.
• Gains may slow: USDA FAS expects Brazil's beef exports to ease from a record 4.4 million tons in 2025 to 4.2 million tons in 2026 as producers begin retaining cows. Brazil's chilled boneless sales almost tripled, but chilled is still only 10.4% of its US business.

Top 5: New Zealand at US$472.9 million

New Zealand's US beef sales rose 18.9% to US$472.9 million, and 91.6% of it was frozen boneless beef. New Zealand supplies 19.5% of all US frozen boneless imports, the third-largest source after Australia and Brazil.

Top US beef imports from New Zealand by HS code (Q1 2026):

• HS 020230 – Boneless beef, frozen: US$433.1M, 91.6% of New Zealand's total, +21.7% YoY
• HS 020130 – Boneless beef, fresh or chilled: US$39.5M, 8.3%, −4.4% YoY
• HS 020120 – Bone-in beef cuts, fresh or chilled: US$0.2M, less than 0.1%

Data Source: Official TradeInt US Import Data. Period: January–March 2026. HS Code Range: 0201 & 0202.

A few notable patterns in the US-New Zealand beef trade:

• All price, no volume: Frozen boneless volume was flat (−0.4%), but its unit value rose 22.1%, the steepest increase among the major frozen suppliers. That left New Zealand's frozen boneless unit value about 5% above Australia's, the highest of the three largest lean beef suppliers.
• The US is New Zealand's key beef market: From October 2025 to June 2026, the US took about 45% of New Zealand's beef exports by volume. Beef + Lamb New Zealand reported record returns and linked them to the US herd being at a 75-year low.
• Chilled is shrinking: Chilled boneless volume fell 17.0%, so New Zealand is concentrating even further on frozen lean beef.

How much beef does the US import?

The US imported US$4,227.5 million of beef in Q1 2026, up 31.2% from US$3,223.4 million in Q1 2025, based on TradeInt's US import data. Frozen beef grew faster than fresh or chilled beef:

• HS 0202 – Beef, frozen: US$2,287.9M, up 35.5% from US$1,688.9M
• HS 0201 – Beef, fresh or chilled: US$1,939.6M, up 26.4% from US$1,534.5M

Data Source: Official TradeInt US Import Data. Period: January–March 2025 and January–March 2026. HS Code Range: 0201 & 0202.

About three-fifths of the increase came from volume (+18.1%) and the rest from price (+11.1% in average unit value). Rising prices with rising volumes mean demand, not just inflation, is pulling beef into the US.

Three factors explain that demand:

• A shrinking US cattle herd. USDA counted 86.2 million cattle and calves on January 1, 2026, and the beef cow herd fell 1% to 27.6 million head, according to USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. A later White House proclamation described the herd as being at its "lowest level in 75 years."
• A structural need for lean beef. US ground beef blends fatty trim from grain-fed cattle with lean trim, which domestically comes mainly from culled cows. When fewer cows are slaughtered, processors import more lean beef. Most imported beef goes into ground beef, according to USDA's Economic Research Service.
• Record consumer prices. Ground beef averaged a record US$6.69 per pound in December 2025, as cited in the February 2026 proclamation that also expanded Argentina's quota. Policy is now actively trying to bring more imported beef in.

The pull continued after Q1. USDA's Economic Research Service forecasts 2026 US beef imports up nearly 18% on 2025, citing "tight domestic supplies and continued strong demand for imported processing beef," while US beef production falls about 4.6%. In August 2026 the White House opened a further 300,000 tons of lean trimmings quota for September–November. USDA FAS expects imports to dip 3% in 2027 if the expanded quotas are not continued.

Which types of beef does the US import the most?

Frozen boneless beef (HS 020230) is the most imported type of beef in the US, worth US$2,218.1 million, or 52.5% of Q1 2026 imports. Boneless beef, frozen and fresh or chilled together, made up 91.7% of import value.

1. HS 020230 – Boneless beef, frozen – US$2,218.1M (52.5% share, +33.9% YoY): The lean trimmings category. Australia, Brazil and New Zealand supplied 71.3% of it, all from overseas.
2. HS 020130 – Boneless beef, fresh or chilled – US$1,660.2M (39.3% share, +32.2% YoY): Canada, Mexico and Australia supplied 85.0%. Proximity matters for chilled beef, which is why the two USMCA neighbors lead.
3. HS 020120 – Bone-in beef cuts, fresh or chilled – US$268.1M (6.3% share, +0.4% YoY): Mexico and Canada supplied 95.9%. This was the only major category with no growth.

Data Source: Official TradeInt US Import Data. Period: January–March 2026. HS Code Range: 0201 & 0202.

Growth is concentrated in boneless beef. Both boneless categories grew more than 30%, while bone-in cuts were flat.

Conclusion

US beef imports rose 31.2% to US$4.2 billion in Q1 2026, as a shrinking domestic herd and record ground beef prices pulled in more lean imported beef. Three shifts stand out. Lean frozen beef is getting more expensive from almost every supplier. Brazil is winning share on price despite paying over-quota duties. Canada, despite duty-free access, is losing share as its volumes fall.

USDA expects that pull to last through 2026, but much of it depends on temporary quota expansions. For exporters, the US is a lean, boneless and price-led market where quota status can matter as much as demand.

To track monthly US beef imports by supplier and HS code, explore TradeInt's US import data.

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