China still the sticking point for US beef exports in H1
Beef exports from the US reached just over 545,000 tonnes in the first half of 2026, down by 9% compared to the same period last year.
In terms of revenue, these shipments brought in almost $4.75 billion, which is down by 4% year on year. According to the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF), much of this decline was because of continued impasse when it comes to exporting beef to China.
Beef exports to the Asian country were strong in the first quarter of 2025, USMEF said.
Since then, it explained, registrations for US beef plants to export to China have expired. These have now been renewed, but negotiations over how and when beef exports will start flowing again are ongoing.
“When China is removed from the January-June results, beef export volume declined just 1% from the first half of last year while export value increased 6%,” USMEF said.
