In The Cattle Markets
January 2021 beef exports and imports.
The latest monthly trade data were released by USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) and Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) March 5. The data released were for January 2021 and showed total beef and veal exports by carcass weight were up slightly (0.4%) from January 2020 at 246 million pounds (lb.). Beef and veal imports were down 8.1% from a year ago at 224 million lb.
Beef exports to mainland China showed by far the largest increase in January compared to a year ago.
While the overall export total was very similar to January 2020, exports to particular countries showed fairly large increases or decreases. Out of the top seven export destinations, January showed stronger exports to South Korea (up 26%), Canada (up 8%) and China (up 759%) as compared to January 2020. Exports to Japan were down about 11%, according to the data. Also lower were exports to Mexico (down 17%), Hong Kong (down 42%) and Taiwan (down 26%).
Beef exports to mainland China showed by far the largest increase in January compared to a year ago. During January 2020, U.S. beef exports to China accounted for 1.1% of total exports for the month, which ranked China as the 11th highest destination for U.S. beef. In January 2021, 9.2% of total U.S. beef exports went to China. This was the fifth-highest destination. The 22.5 million lb. of beef exported to China during January 2021 helped to offset the large decrease in exports to Hong Kong.
On the import side, beef imports from Australia declined sharply (down 47%), while imports from New Zealand were up about 46%. Canada, New Zealand, Mexico and Australia were again the top four beef import sources and collectively accounted for 81% of beef imports during January 2021.
Beef trade in 2021 is expected to recover from the disruptions during 2020 that drastically affected beef exports and imports during the middle of the year. USDA estimates from the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report suggest an increase in beef exports of about 6% during 2021 as compared to 2020, while imports are expected to be down about 10%. The pace of continuing recovery in beef demand in international destinations will be a key driver for beef exports moving forward and for the value that beef exports add to cattle production.
Editor’s note: Josh Maples is an assistant professor and extension economist in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Mississippi State University.
