U.S. beef exports were down 5.5-percent in 2020 due to supply chain and food service constraints tied to COVID. However, the outlook for 2021 is brighter. John Hinners with the U.S. Meat Export Federation says with travel restrictions slowly coming off and more food service outlets opening up that will increase U.S. beef shipments to most customers, but especially top buyers, Japan and South Korea.
He says many countries buy U.S. variety meats like tongue, liver and stomach. These sales were down last year as many processing plants ended up destroying those cuts or including them in ground product. However, Hinners says this year those sales should rebound.
And Hinners says that export value really adds up, which increases the value of the beef carcass and what cattle producers get paid.
Even with COVID, U.S. beef exports in 2020 topped $7.6 billion and accounted for 11-percent of U.S. domestic production.
