Beef Highlights:

December 2024:

Beef: 86,589 mt, +4%; $814 million, +7%
BVM: 23,582 mt, -6%; $83 million, -18%
Beef + BVM: 110,171 mt, +1.5%; $898 million, +4%

January – December 2024:

Beef: 997,217 mt, -1%; $9.358 billion, +6%
BVM: 288,374 mt, +1%; $1.097 billion, -3%
Beef + BVM: 1.286 mil mt, -0.5%; $10.455 billion, +5%

December beef muscle cut exports totaled 86,589 mt, up 4% or +3,300 mt from 2023 and the highest since June.

Compared to the previous year, December beef muscle cut exports were higher to Taiwan (2,459 mt), China/HK (+1,343 mt), ASEAN (+538 mt), Japan (+537 mt), EU 27 + UK (+326 mt), Canada (+109 mt), and CIS (+1 mt), while exports were lower to Mexico (-540 mt), the Middle East (-540 mt), Korea (-455 mt), South America (-205 mt), Central America (-177 mt), Caribbean + DR (-108 mt), and Africa (-4 mt).

After dropping to the lowest volume since 2016 in October, beef exports to Japan rebounded somewhat in November and December and were above 15,000 mt both months.  In December, exports were 15,201 mt, up 4% from the low level in December 2023.

December exports to Mexico were the highest in a year at 10,031 mt (which was down 5% year-over-year).  Apart from December 2023, the December 2024 total was the highest since January 2021. 

December exports to Canada were the highest since July at 7,612 mt, up 1.5% from 2023 (and above year-ago levels for the first time in six months.

Exports to South Korea (21,619 mt, -2% year-over-year) were the highest since last December. 

Exports to Taiwan were up sharply from last year and were the highest since July at 6,140 mt (up 67% year-over-year).

Combined exports to China/HK totaled 16,621 mt, up 9% from 2023 and above year-ago levels for the third consecutive month.  Exports to China were 14,130 mt, up 11% from 2023, while exports to HK were 2,491 mt, down 2.5% from 2023.

For the ASEAN region, exports remained strong to the Philippines (1,203 mt, +94%) and Singapore (485 mt, +57%), and exports were also higher year-over-year to Vietnam (188 mt, +12%) in December.  But, exports to Indonesia dropped to just 48 mt,  down 86% year-over-year.

For the Caribbean, exports to the DR (787 mt, -25%) were below last year’s record total.  The pace of shipments to Cuba slowed in Q4, and in December, exports were 126 mt, up from 53 mt last year.  Exports to the Bahamas (388 mt, +35%) reached the highest monthly volume since 2012.

Exports to Guatemala slowed to 476 mt in December, down 45% year-over-year, following strong shipments from Sep – Nov.  Exports to Costa Rica (432 mt, +42%) rebounded to the highest level in over a year.  

In South America, exports to Chile were 339 mt, up 22%, while exports to Peru were 127 mt, down 26%.  Exports to Colombia had rebounded to 278 mt in November which was the highest level since March, but volumes pulled back to 234 mt in December, down 58% year-over-year.

December exports to the UAE rebounded from 5 mt in November to 80 mt in December, but that was still down 85% year-over-year.  December exports to Kuwait (249 mt, +14%) were the highest since July.

December beef variety meat exports totaled 23,582 mt, down 6% or -1,615 mt from the previous year.

Exports were higher than last year to China/HK (+425 mt), Canada (+412 mt), Africa (+215 mt), Caribbean + DR (+33 mt), and South America (+17 mt), while exports were lower to the Middle East (-1,165 mt), Korea (-673 mt), Japan (-300 mt), Mexico (-217 mt), Central America (-190 mt), and the ASEAN (-64 mt).

After being above year-ago levels for the previous five months, December exports to Mexico (10,537 mt, -2%) were down slightly year-over-year.

Exports to Canada (912 mt, +82%) were sharply higher year-over-year for the second consecutive month.  

Exports to Japan (3,566 mt, -8%) were below year-ago levels for the third consecutive month.

Exports to South Korea (580 mt, -54%) were below year-ago levels for the ninth consecutive month.

Combined exports to China/HK totaled 2,545 mt, up 20% year-over-year as exports to China were 1,816 mt, up 16%, and exports to HK were 729 mt, up 32%.

For the ASEAN region, exports to Indonesia dropped to just 118 mt, down 62% year-over-year and the lowest since August.  Exports to Vietnam (156 mt, +290%) and the Philippines (73 mt, +16%).

Exports to Peru slowed to 534 mt (down 13% year-over-year) following three strong months of exports.  Exports to Chile (203 mt, +53%) were the highest since July, and exports to Colombia (76 mt) were steady year-over-year.

Exports to Jamaica were 193 mt (up 122% year-over-year), following exports of over 200 mt the previous two months.

Exports to Egypt (2,409 mt, -33%) slowed in December to the lowest level since September (and when excluding September, exports were the lowest since November 2023).  Exports to South Africa were just 77 mt, which was down 79% from last year and was the lowest since the market opened in 2016. Exports to Gabon (470 mt, +34%) were the highest since March 2022, and exports to Cote d’Ivoire were strong for the second consecutive month at 371 mt, up 41%.

January – December beef muscle cut + variety meat exports totaled 1.286 million mt, down 0.5% or -6,500 mt from 2023. Exports were higher year-over-year to Mexico (+21,928 mt), Middle East (+8,218 mt), Caribbean + DR (+5,042 mt), ASEAN (+2,858 mt), Taiwan (+2,193 mt), Central America (+678 mt), and CIS (+15 mt). Exports were lower to Korea (-16,081 mt), China/HK (-13,094 mt), Africa (-8,585 mt), EU27 + UK (-3,161 mt), South America (-3,004 mt), Canada (-2,817 mt), and South America (-2,816 mt), and exports held close to steady to Japan (-150 mt).

2024 beef/bvm exports achieved annual volume and value records in the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, the Leeward-Windward Islands, Netherlands Antilles, Turks & Caicos, Cuba, Guyana, Singapore, and Morocco and value records in the Bahamas, Bermuda, Qatar, Jordan, and Bahrain.

December 2024 beef exports accounted for 12.3% of production and 14.6% when adding variety meats, compared to 11.9% and 14.4% in December 2023. January – December 2024 beef exports accounted for 11.5% of production and 13.9% when adding variety meats, compared to 11.7% and 14.0% for January – December 2023. 

December 2024 beef export value per head of fed slaughter averaged $443.73/head, up 3% or +$12.23/head from $431.50/head in December 2023. January – December 2024 beef export value per head of fed slaughter averaged $415.08/head, up 5% or +$18.04/head from $397.04/head for January – December 2023.6.

Source: USMEF