USDA lowers beef export sales by 90% amid growing doubts over data

USDA cut late‑June U.S. beef export sales by about 90% after admitting an earlier report was wrong, raising fresh worry about data quality amid staff cuts and a new reporting system.
Traders doubted the spike because record U.S. beef prices and tight cattle supplies make huge export gains unlikely; the U.S. is even importing more beef to cover domestic shortfalls.
The agency drastically revised shipments to some countries — e.g., Chile and Italy fell from tens of thousands of tons to just a few hundred — underscoring the scale of the error.