Immigration repression operations in the United States began to affect the operation of slaughterhouses in Kansas, one of the main hubs for North American beef production.
With workers missing for fear of approaches from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), factories reduced the pace of slaughter and thousands of cattle were delayed in being sent for processing.
The problem comes at a delicate time for the American meat chain: the country has the smallest cattle herd in around 75 years and meat is at record prices. Therefore, a further reduction in the pace of slaughterhouses could further increase the pressure on supply.
This could make it even more difficult for meat to reach supermarkets at a time when Donald Trump's government is precisely trying to reduce prices.
Why is meat so expensive in the US?
Beef production depends on a relatively simple chain. First, the rancher raises the cattle. Then, the animals are sent to confinements and, when they are ready, they go to slaughterhouses.
It is there that they are slaughtered and transformed into meat to reach supermarkets and restaurants.
In recent years, American producers have reduced the number of animals because the drought has made farming more expensive and difficult. With fewer cattle available, there is less raw material for slaughterhouses to process.
And, when the supply of a product decreases while demand continues, the price tends to rise.
Trump tries to increase meat supply
To try to put more meat on the market and reduce prices, the government adopted measures to facilitate the entry of foreign products. One of them allows the temporary import of up to 300 thousand tons of ground beef in 90 days without an additional fee that is normally charged when a quota limit is exceeded.
The strategy, however, faces resistance from American livestock farmers. The concern is that more imported meat will reduce the price received by US producers and discourage the creation of new animals.
Trump also opened an investigation into the functioning of the market and large processing companies.
The price of food also weighs in on elections
The discussion gained importance because the United States will have midterm elections in November.
In this vote, Americans will choose deputies and some senators. The result defines who will have a majority in Congress over the next two years.
The cost of living is one of the voters' concerns. A Reuters/Ipsos poll carried out in September showed that 17% of Americans approved of Trump's performance regarding the cost of living.
Beef is just one of the foods that has become more expensive, but it has an important weight because it is part of everyday food and because the problem directly involves rural producers, slaughterhouses and consumers.
What does immigration have to do with the price of meat?
Kansas is one of the main beef processing centers in the United States. This week, ICE agents stepped up operations in cities including Dodge City, Liberal and Garden City.
According to local authorities, community organizers and sector entities, some of the workers stopped going to the slaughterhouses for fear of being approached by agents. The result was a reduction in the pace of some factories.
And this creates a problem for the chain: it is not enough to have cattle available. You need to have workers and the capacity to transform animals into meat.
Cattle slaughter fell 16%
The impact has already appeared in official data. On Thursday (24), American slaughterhouses slaughtered around 90,000 cattle, a 16% drop compared to the same Thursday the previous week, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).
On Wednesday, the reduction had been approximately 9%.
It is not possible to say how much of this drop was directly caused by the ICE operation. But sector entities say that the reduction in labor and delays in animal transport are already affecting the chain.
