Beef Highlights::

October2020:
Beef: 85,445 mt, +5%, $574 million +1%
BVM: 22,146 mt, -16%, $72 million, -9%
Beef + BVM: 107,591 mt, -0.4%, $646 million, -0.5%

January – October 2020:
Beef: 791,674 mt, -5%, $5.484 billion, -8%
BVM: 227,853 mt, -15%, $714 million, -10%
Beef + BVM: 1.020 million mt, -7%, $6.197 billion, -8%

October beef muscle cut exports totaled 85,445 mt, up 5% or +3,700 mt from last year and the third highest monthly volume this year after August and March. Exports were higher to China/HK (+5,000 mt), Japan (+1,600 mt), Taiwan (+800 mt), Central America (+100 mt), the EU (+90 mt), and South America (+20 mt), while exports were lower to Mexico (-1,600 mt), the ASEAN (-1,200 mt), the Caribbean + DR (-550 mt), Korea (-330 mt), Canada (-110 mt), and the Middle East (-50 mt).  Exports to Japan (18,582 mt, +10%) and Korea (18,488 mt, -2%) slowed from the prior month again in October, but exports to Japan were above year-ago levels for the second consecutive month.  Exports to Mexico (9,582 mt, -14%) remained lower year-over-year but continued to rebound and were up 52% from the prior month and were the highest since February.  Combined exports to China/HK totaled 15,000 mt, up 51% from last year.  Exports to Hong Kong (8,474 mt, -7%) were lower year-over-year after being above year-ago levels from July – September.  Exports to China (6,522 mt, +662%) exceeded last month’s record of 4,242 mt, and China alone was the sixth largest destination for U.S. beef exports in October.  Exports to Canada (7,772, -1%) were the lowest since June.  Exports to Taiwan (5,871 mt, +15%) remained strong and were the third largest monthly volume of 2020 after August and July.  In the ASEAN region, exports held steady to Indonesia (1,456 mt), but exports were lower year-over-year to the Philippines (1,052 mt, -25%), Vietnam (1,014 mt, -43%), and Singapore (379 mt, -31%).  Even though exports were lower year-over-year, exports to the Philippines were the highest since March, to Vietnam were the highest since last December, and to Singapore were the highest since January.  Exports to Thailand (337 mt, +116%) set a new record, exceeding the previous record of 194 mt last December.  Exports to Guatemala (775 mt, +51%) also were record high, while exports to Costa Rica (252 mt, -2%) were below year-ago levels but rebounded to the highest level since February.  Exports to Chile (756 mt, +12%) were the highest since last November, and exports to Colombia (307 mt, +15%) were the highest since February.  Exports to the Dominican Republic (227 mt, -33%) and the Bahamas (193 mt, -43%) have been below year-ago levels since March, but October beef muscle cut exports to the Bahamas were the highest since March.  Exports have been rebounding to the United Arab Emirates (338 mt, -27%) and Kuwait (299 mt, +50%).  

October beef variety meat exports totaled 22,146 mt, down 16% or -4,200 mt from last year. Exports were higher year-over-year to Africa (+650 mt), Japan (+400 mt), China/HK (+370 mt), and Korea (+80 mt), while exports were lower to Mexico (-2,100 mt), the Middle East (-1,800 mt), ASEAN (-1,300 mt), Canada (-220 mt), Caribbean + DR (-190 mt), Central America (-60 mt), and South America (-20 mt).  October beef variety meat exports to Mexico (7,201 mt, -22%) were up just 0.5% from September, and although exports have rebounded somewhat since the low this May, exports remain well below year-ago levels.  Beef variety meat exports to Japan (4,771 mt, +9%) were the highest since last November.  After being over 4,000 mt in September, exports to Egypt (2,850 mt, -38%) dropped in October to the third lowest monthly value this year after May and August.  In September, variety meat exports to South Africa were the second largest on record at over 2,000 mt.  In October, exports to South Africa (1,762 mt, +43%) slowed from that record but remained strong.  In Africa, exports also increased year-over-year to Angola (241 mt, +31%), Cote d’Ivoire (162 mt, +575%), and Ethiopia (146 mt, up from 0 mt last year), but exports were lower to Gabon (187 mt, -37%).  Beef variety meat exports to Korea (901 mt, +10%) were the highest since May.  Exports to Hong Kong (789 mt, +9%) were the highest since July, and exports to China (309 mt, up from 0 mt last year) were the second highest monthly volume after 488 mt in September.  Exports to Canada (688 mt, -24%) were the highest since July.  Exports slowed to Peru (540 mt, +8%) following exports of over 1,000 mt in both August and September, while exports to Colombia (229 mt, +0%) were the highest since December.  Exports to Jamaica (323 mt, -12%) slowed in October.  Exports to Indonesia (252 mt, -83%) were the lowest since 2017 and  exports to the Philippines (167 mt, -35%) have been below year-ago levels all year.

January – October beef and beef variety meat exports totaled 1.020 million mt, down 7% or -79,800 mt. Exports were higher than last year to China/HK (+13,300 mt), Canada (+8,800 mt), Africa (+8,700 mt), Taiwan (+1,200 mt), and the Russia region (+50 mt), while exports were lower year-over-year to Mexico (-53,600 mt), the Middle East (-18,400 mt), the ASEAN (-11,500 mt), the Caribbean + DR (-7,400 mt), Korea (-6,100 mt), Japan (-6,000 mt), the EU (-3,700 mt), South America (-3,400 mt), and Central America (-2,000 mt). 

October beef exports accounted for 10.8% of production and 12.7% when adding variety meats, as compared to 10.5% and 12.9% in October 2019.  January – October exports accounted for 11.0% of beef production and 13.2% when adding variety meats, down from 11.5% and 14.1% last year. 

October beef export value per head of fed slaughter averaged $283.94/head, steady with October 2019.  January – October export value per head averaged $293.99/head, down $14.86/head or -5%from $308.85/head last year. 

SOURCE: USMEF