U.S. Beef Exports Gaining Momentum
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(Note: Export totals include both muscle cuts and variety meat, unless otherwise indicated.)
Led by a dramatic increase in exports to South Korea and Russia, a solid June performance allowed U.S. beef exports to finish the first half of 2010 with strong momentum.
According to statistics released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF), a contractor to the beef checkoff, June beef exports were 25 percent above year-ago volumes, totaling 212.9 million pounds, while the value in June was up 37 percent to $377.6 million.
For the first six months of the year, beef export volume reached 1.09 billion pounds – up 14 percent over the first half of 2009. Export value has fared even better, rising 22 percent to $1.83 billion. Export value per steer and heifer slaughtered was $139, compared to less than $115 last year. The percentage of total production exported increased from 10 percent to 11 percent.
Throughout the first half of 2010, Mexico was the only major market in which U.S. beef exports trailed last year's pace. That trend continued through June, with exports to Mexico trailing January-June 2009 totals by 24 percent, both in volume (258.4 million pounds) and value ($380.4 million). Exports to Mexico have shown recent signs of improvement, however, with weekly export data for the last three weeks of July and the first week of August exceeding year-ago volumes.
Canada, the No. 2 market for U.S. beef, has been flat in terms of volume at 156.4 million pounds and 4 percent higher in value ($322 million) compared to the first half of 2009. 
Elsewhere, U.S. beef exports are on a very powerful roll. In South Korea, export volume is nearly double the pace of 2009 at 110.7 million pounds and up nearly 130 percent in value to $225 million!
"The re-emergence of U.S. beef in Korea is very gratifying," said Philip Seng, USMEF president and CEO. "Just a few months ago, we were struggling to gain any traction in the foodservice and retail sectors in Korea. But we have worked very hard through our 'Trust' imaging campaign for U.S. beef and in building relationships with both beef buyers and consumers to regain consumer confidence, and this has created much more interest among the supermarket and restaurant trade.
“USMEF recently partnered with Lotte Mart, a major Korean supermarket chain, on a very successful reintroduction of T-bone steaks in Korea,” Seng said. “That's just one of many examples of our progress in this very critical and competitive market."
Despite the continued 20-month age restriction on eligible cattle, beef exports to Japan maintained their steady growth, as well. Exports totaled 113.9 million pounds valued at $270 million – an increase of 29 percent in both volume and value over the first half of 2009. Other key Asian markets also performed extremely well, including:
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Vietnam, where exports were 67.8 million pounds valued at $111.7 million – an increase of 8 percent in volume and 23 percent in value over 2009.
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In Hong Kong, exports reached 31.2 million pounds valued at $56 million. This is an increase of 74 percent in volume over last year's pace, and more than double the value of year-ago levels.
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Exports to Taiwan were up 40 percent in volume and more than 50 percent in value, reaching 38.4 million pounds valued at $91 million.
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In the Philippines, exports increased 66 percent in volume and nearly 50 percent in value, totaling 10.7 million pounds valued at $12.9 million.
Another shining star was Russia, where exports are up nearly 300 percent in volume to 66.4 million pounds and up almost 1,000 percent in value to $87 million. With half the year remaining, Russia is already within 10 percent of its all-time, single-year value record for imports of U.S. beef – $95.3 million – set in 2008.
USMEF Chairman Jim Peterson, a rancher from Buffalo, Mont., says the first-half export results are a source of optimism for U.S. cattle and hog producers.
"With the domestic economy still struggling, strong performance in the foreign markets is really a shot in the arm for the U.S. meat industry," he said. "I am especially encouraged by the strong prices our products are commanding overseas and the excellent return this is delivering to U.S. farmers and ranchers."
The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval.
Funded by the Beef Checkoff.
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