With market access improvements secured through the Phase One Trade Agreement, U.S. beef exports to China gained significant traction for the first time in 2020 and have surged this year, reaching 138,000 metric tons through September valued at more than $1.1 billion. U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) Economist Erin Borror says projections for the entire marketing year are even higher.
She says that export growth to China has not come at the expense of well-established markets like Japan and South Korea, where demand for U.S. beef remains very strong. In fact, she notes that exports to Japan, Korea and the combined China/Hong Kong market will each top $2 billion this year and global exports are likely to reach $10 billion – shattering the previous record of $8.33 billion set in 2018.
Borror adds that even with this strong demand from China, the U.S. industry remains far less dependent on the Chinese market than most beef-exporting countries,
She notes that U.S. exports have achieved broad-based growth this year and domestic demand for U.S. beef is also robust.
