Beef Highlights

March 2022:

Beef: 101,349 mt, +2% and the third highest after August and May 2021, $965 million, +34% and a new record
BVM: 24,936 mt, -3%, $105 million, +26% and the third highest value after November and December 2021
Beef + BVM: 126,285 mt, +1% and the third highest after May and August 2021, $1.070 billion, +33% and a new record

January – March 2022:

Beef: 281,909 mt, +7%, $2.699 billion, +42%
BVM: 72,753 mt, +3%; $301 million, +34%
Beef + BVM: 353,852 mt, +6%; $3.0 billion, +41%

March beef muscle cut exports totaled 101,349 mt, +2% or up 2,360 mt from last year.  Muscle cut exports reached the third highest volume on record behind August and May 2021.  Beef muscle cut export value set a new record in March at $965 million.  March beef muscle cut exports were higher than last year to Korea (+2,500 mt), Taiwan (+1,300 mt), Canada (+1,250 mt), Caribbean + DR (+990 mt), EU 27 + UK (+860 mt),  Middle East (+410 mt), China/HK (+270 mt), and Central America (+70 mt).  Exports were lower than last year to Japan (-2,300 mt), Mexico (-2,200 mt), ASEAN (-670 mt), and South America (-100 mt).  March exports to Korea (25,931 mt, +11%) reached the fourth highest volume on record (after May 2021, Jan 2022, and Aug 2020).  Exports to Japan (21,264 mt, -10%) were the highest since November but were lower year-over-year.  Combined exports to China/HK totaled 19,329 mt, up 1% from last year.  Exports to China (18,162 mt, +28%) were the second highest after 19,900 mt in August, while exports to Hong Kong (1,167 mt, -76%) slowed further.  Exports to Canada (8,679 mt, +17%) were the highest since December, while exports to Mexico (7,270 mt, -23%) were lower year-over-year for the sixth consecutive month.  Exports to Taiwan (6,202 mt, +26%) remained strong and were at the sixth highest monthly volume on record.  Exports to Indonesia (1,365 mt, +15%) and Singapore (386 mt, -4%) were the highest since October, and exports to Vietnam (797 mt, -9%) were the highest since May, but exports slowed to the Philippines (860 mt, -47%).  Exports to the Dominican Republic (937 mt, +109%) reached the second highest volume after last October, and exports continued to rebound to top Caribbean markets: Bahamas (276 mt, +35% and the highest since August), Netherlands Antilles (245 mt, +93%), and Jamaica (170 mt, +170%).  For Central America, exports remained strong to Guatemala (833 mt, +7% and the third highest monthly volume), Honduras (255 mt, +7% and the second highest monthly volume), and Panama (246 mt, +105%), while exports slowed to Costa Rica (338 mt, -4%).  Exports to Chile (660 mt, -17%) were the highest since November but were lower than the previous year for the fourth month, while exports to Colombia (513 mt, -2%) slowed after averaging 990 mt per month over the previous five months.  Exports saw strong growth to the Middle East: UAE (496 mt, +4%), Kuwait (463 mt, +141%), Qatar (213 mt, +73% and the highest since 2011), Saudi Arabia (196 mt, +40% and the highest since 2020), and Bahrain (137 mt, +56% a new monthly high). 

March beef variety meat exports were the highest since December at 24,936 mt, but volumes were down 3% from last year (-900 mt) and down 10% from 2020 (-2,750 mt).  March beef variety meat exports were higher than last year to China/HK (+1,900 mt), Korea (+200 mt), and Egypt (+200 mt), but exports were lower to South America (-700 mt), Africa (-630 mt), Mexico (-620 mt), ASEAN (-580 mt), Japan (-520 mt), Canada (-90 mt), and Central America (-60 mt).  March beef variety meat exports to Mexico (7,690 mt, -7%) increased by 13% from February but were otherwise the lowest since October.  Exports to Japan (4,426 mt, -11%) were also lower year-over-year.  Exports to Egypt (4,212 mt, +6%) slowed to the lowest level since October but were still higher year-over-year.  Combined exports to China/HK totaled 3,416 mt, up 129% from last year, driven by a new record China (2,815 mt, +673% and up from the previous record of 2,298 mt in February), while exports to Hong Kong (601 mt, -47%) slowed.  Exports to Korea (903 mt, +31%) rebounded to the fourth highest monthly total since March 2020 (start of the pandemic).  Exports to Canada (555 mt, -14%) picked up from the slow levels in January and February but remained lower year-over-year.  Exports to Indonesia (649 mt, -37%) were the highest since October, and exports to the Philippines (342 mt, -26%) were the highest since May, although volumes to both destinations were below year-ago levels.  Exports to Peru (124 mt, -85%) rebounded from the very low levels in January and February but remained sluggish, while exports to Chile (411 mt, +22%) were the highest since 2014 and exports to Colombia (184 mt, +2%) were the highest since November.  Exports to South Africa dropped below recent year levels from August 2021 through January 2022 before rebounding in February to 1,480 mt, but exports slowed again in March to just 381 mt, down 67% from last year.  Exports to Gabon (541 mt, +185%) were the highest since March 2020 (and otherwise the highest since 2014), while exports to Angola (109 mt, -41%) were lower year-over-year.

January – March combined beef muscle cut and variety meat exports totaled 353,852 mt, up 6% or +20,500 mt from last year.  Exports were higher than last year to China/HK (+16,300 mt), Korea (+6,450 mt), Taiwan (+5,900 mt), the Middle East (+2,100 mt), EU27 + UK (+2,050 mt), Caribbean + DR (+1,800 mt), and Central America (+730 mt), while exports were lower to Mexico (-7,900 mt), Japan (-3,200 mt), Africa (-1,200 mt), ASEAN (-1,200 mt), South America (-1,100 mt), and Canada (-600 mt).

March 2022 beef exports accounted for 12.7% of production and 14.7% when adding variety meats, compared to 12.5% and 14.7% for March 2021.  January – March 2022 beef exports accounted for 12.5% of production and 14.7% when adding variety meats, compared to 11.9% and 14.1% for January – March 2021. 

March beef export value per head of fed slaughter averaged $472.73/head, up 36% or +$124.07/head from $348.66/head in March 2021.  January – March 2022 beef export value per head of fed slaughter averaged $474.10/head, up 41% or +$138.65/head from $335.45/head for January – March 2021.

Source: USMEF