International Beef Prices: Is There Evidence of Convergence? *

The beef export prices of different countries seem to show significant convergence over the last three decades (figure 1). Such convergence might be caused by a number of factors, including changes in commercial policy following the Uruguay Round or the erosion of the price penalty traditionally faced by beef-producing countries with endemic foot and mouth disease (FMD). The conventional wisdom is that FMD has divided the international beef market