CME Plans Beef Trim Futures and Options for July

CME Group announced on 30 June that it plans to launch two Beef Trim futures and options contracts, with trading expected to start on 20 July pending regulatory review.

The planned contracts are financially settled 90% Lean Beef Trim and 50% Lean Beef Trim futures and options. CME said the contracts track products used in high-volume ground beef production, with the 90% and 50% labels referring to lean percentages relative to fat in the physical market.

The exchange said the products are designed to help producers, packers, processors and end users manage input costs tied to retail ground-beef blend ratios. CME also said the contracts will be listed on and subject to CME rules.

The launch follows strong activity in CME’s agricultural complex. CME cited record annual average daily volume of 1.9 million agricultural contracts in 2025, along with record activity in Live Cattle and Feeder Cattle futures and options.

Why it matters

Commodity traders already use Live Cattle and Feeder Cattle contracts to express views or hedge exposure across the cattle chain. Beef trim is a more specific input market, so a dedicated futures and options product could improve price discovery around ground-beef economics and create another spread relationship for agriculture desks to monitor.

For active traders, the opportunity is not just outright beef-trim exposure. The contract may also affect relative-value analysis across cattle, feed, meat-processing margins and food inflation themes.

What to watch next

Watch the final regulatory review, contract specifications, first listed months, settlement methodology and early liquidity. Broker support and market-maker participation will determine whether the contract becomes a practical trading instrument or a niche hedging tool.