Beef Highlights:

November 2020:
Beef : 91,338 mt, +13% and the third highest after July and Aug 2018, $630 million +11%
BVM: 23,999 mt, -14%, $77 million, -13%
Beef + BVM: 115,337 mt, +6%, $707 million, +7.5%

January – November 2020:
Beef: 883,012 mt, -3%, $6.114 billion, -6%
BVM: 251,852 mt, -15%, $791 million, -11%
Beef + BVM: 1.135 million mt, -6%, $6.905 billion, -7%

November beef muscle cut exports were the third highest on record (after July and Aug 2018) at 91,338 mt, up 10,500 mt from last year or +13%.  Exports were higher year-over-year to Mexico (+4,800 mt), China/HK (+4,500 mt), the ASEAN (+630 mt), the Middle East (+600 mt), Korea (+530 mt), Japan (+520 mt), Central America (+440 mt), Taiwan (+380 mt), EU (+150 mt), and Africa (+50 mt), while exports were lower to Canada (-920 mt), the Caribbean + DR (-580 mt), and South America (-530 mt).  Exports to Japan (19,712 mt) and Korea (18,324 mt) were both up 3% from last year, while exports to Mexico (14,473 mt, +50% from last Nov and up 51% from the previous month) surged to the highest level since 2013.  Exports to the China/HK region reached a record high of 16,774 mt (up 37% year-over-year) on a record volume to China (7,902 mt, +669%).  Exports to Hong Kong (8,872 mt, -21%) were the highest since November 2019.  Exports to Canada (6,523 mt, -12%) slowed to the lowest level since February 2019.  Exports to Taiwan (5,242 mt, +8%) were higher year-over-year for the fifth consecutive month.  Exports to Vietnam (1,386 mt, +34%) and Singapore (481 mt, +72%) were the highest since October 2019, but exports to Indonesia (670 mt, +3%) and the Philippines (737 mt, -1%) were the lowest since June.  November exports to Guatemala (848 mt, +82%) were record large for the second consecutive month, and exports were also higher to Costa Rica (215 mt, +8%).  Exports to the Dominican Republic (329 mt, -18%) remained lower year-over-year but were the highest since March, while exports remained sluggish to the Bahamas (170 mt, -43%) and the Netherlands Antilles (170 mt, -45%). Exports were lower to Chile (492 mt, -46%) and Colombia (296 mt, -23%).  Exports notably picked up to the Middle East in November with: Kuwait (644 mt, +360%, the highest since 2011 and the third highest on record), the UAE (569 mt, +19% and the highest since February), and Saudi Arabia (168 mt, +81% and the highest since May 2019). 

Monthly beef variety meat exports have been lower year-over-year since April, and in November, exports totaled 23,999 mt, down 14% or -3,800 mt year-over-year.  Exports were higher to China/HK (+430 mt) and Central America (+10 mt) but were lower to other regions compared to last year: Africa (-1,300 mt), Korea (-690 mt), Japan (-690 mt), Mexico (-480 mt), Canada (-450 mt), ASEAN (-360 mt), South America (-110 mt), Caribbean + DR (-110 mt).  Exports were steady to the Middle East.  Exports to Mexico (8,398 mt, -5%) were still below year-ago levels but continued to rebound in November and were the highest since March.  Exports to Egypt (5,652 mt, -1%) were the highest since February.  Exports to Japan (4,159 mt, -14%) slowed to the lowest level since June.  Total exports to China/HK were higher (1,396 mt, +44%), and exports to China (470 mt, up from 12 mt) were the second highest since the market re-opened after September, while exports were lower year-over-year to Hong Kong (926 mt, -3%) but were the highest since July.  Exports to South Africa (789 mt, -40% from the large total last Nov) were the lowest since July, and exports were sharply lower to Angola (53 mt, -92%) and Cote d’Ivoire (53 mt, -66%), but exports increased to Gabon (157 mt, +20%).  For the ASEAN region, exports were lower to both Indonesia (698 mt, -27%) and the Philippines (58 mt, -61%).  November exports also slowed to Korea (626 mt, -53%) and Canada (491 mt, -48%).  Exports to Peru (406 mt, +53%) continued to slow from the large Aug/Sep totals but remained higher year-over-year, while exports to Colombia (219 mt, -28%) were lower.  Beef variety meat exports to Jamaica (161 mt, -56%) were the lowest since 2017 but maintained their record pace to Trinidad and Tobago (103 mt, +164%). 

January – November beef and variety meat exports totaled 1.135 million mt, down 6% or -73,000 mt from Jan – Nov 2019.  Exports were higher to China/HK (+18,200 mt), Africa (+7,400 mt), Canada (+7,400 mt), Taiwan (+1,600 mt), and the Russia region (+40 mt), while exports were lower to Mexico (-49,200 mt), the Middle East (-17,800 mt), the ASEAN (-11,200 mt), Caribbean + DR (-8,100 mt), Korea (-6,300 mt), Japan (-6,100 mt), South America (-4,050 mt), the EU (-3,550 mt), and Central America (-1,600 mt).

November beef exports accounted for 12.6% of production and 14.8% when adding variety meats, as compared to 11.0% and 13.7% in November 2019.  January – November exports accounted for 11.1% of beef production and 13.3% when adding variety meats, down from 11.4% and 14.1% last year. 

November beef export value per head of fed slaughter averaged $338.43/head, up 10% or +$30.88/head from $307.55/head in November 2019 and the highest since April.  January – November export value per head averaged $298.01/head, down $10.73/head or -3% from $308.74/head last year. 

Source: USMEF