US beef exports on course for record year
October figures compiled by the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF) and published by the US Department of Agriculture show that beef exports for the year are already above $10 billion and are on course to set a new record.
For the month of October, beef export volumes reached 125,466 tonnes, up by 8% year on year. In value terms, the figure was $929.8 million, which was 3% down on the figure for October 2021.
For the first ten months of this year combined, though, the value of US beef exports is 18% above last year’s figure and has gone above $10 billion for only the second time in history.
Combined volume for the ten months is 1.25 million tonnes, up by 4% year on year.
Commenting on the figures, USMEF chief executive, Dan Halstrom, said: “The October results were remarkable considering the headwinds facing US beef, especially in our large Asian markets.”
He explained that key currencies, including the Japanese yen and Korean won “had sunk to their lowest levels in decades versus the US dollar”.
He said covid-19 lockdowns in China were also “a concerning factor”, especially for buyers in the foodservice sector.
“With some recent improvement in exchange rates,” he concluded, “beef exports are well positioned to surpass last year’s records.”
