January Red Meat Exports Off Year-Over-Year, But Halstrom Is Encouraged

According to the U.S. Meat Export Federation, while beef exports opened 2021 lower than figures reported a year earlier, the decrease was marginal. USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom noted beef exports totaled 105,000 metric tons in January, down 2% from a year ago, while value slipped three percent to $653 million. When breaking down the figures, Halstrom said the two markets that stand out, China and South Korea.

“We’re on our fourth wave of coronavirus wave spikes, but I think overall there’s some momentum building up on the food service side, but make no mistake the real driver here is retail.  There’s some genuine sustained growth going on in China.  This is a demand segment that really hasn’t had a lot of high quality, grain fed beef, and I think it’s a testament to the Phase One China agreement.  We’re starting to see the results right now.”

While optimistic about the year ahead, Halstrom was cautious about labor issues and logistical challenges.

“We’re still struggling on variety meat capture rates at some of the plants, we’re still struggling with specifications that require additional labor for the export market," Halstrom continued. "Another associated issue is of course the logistics as it relates to the ports, especially the west coast ports.”

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