Beef Buzz News
Demand Remains Strong For U.S. Beef Exports, Says Dan Halstrom, USMEF President And CEO
Wed, 09 Sep 2020 08:04:38 CDT
Beef exports have been relatively strong so far this year and Dan Halstrom, president and CEO of the U.S. Meat Export Federation, expects even better numbers in the last half of the year.
Halstrom spoke with Radio Oklahoma Agriculture Network Farm Director Ron Hays following release of the latest meat exports report.
July meat export numbers are showing improvement, especially for beef, Halstrom said.
We saw a significant rebound from May and June, as we are 36 percent higher on a volume basis globally for beef, he said.
On the pork side, we are up slightly from June and we are at record levels for pork, he said.
The underlying dynamics are very positive with broad-based demand for beef globally, Halstrom said.
Japan, Korea and China are leading the way.
The fruits of the Phase One trade deal with China are finally showing up in the export numbers.
We have increased access in terms of all cattle and all ages, traceability requirements scaled back, and the big deal was the establishment of Maximum Residue Limits (MRL) for synthetic hormone, Halstrom said.
The meat export official is optimistic the growth prospects are there for Japan and Korea for the rest of the year.
Halstrom cautioned there is one overriding concern for the meat export outlook.
The labor issue for the meat processing plants remains an issue, he said.
Even though we are getting the processing numbers up, there is still a labor shortage and that is going to impact exports, he said.
Especially on the value added and beef variety meats side.
The numbers would be up even more if we had adequate labor, he said.
Click on the LISTEN BAR below to hear more comments from Dan Halstrom.
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