Agricultural News
The State of U.S. Beef Exports from USMEF's Dan Halstrom
Wed, 27 Oct 2021 14:20:24 CDT
Radio Oklahoma's own KC Sheperd caught up with Dan Halstrom, president and CEO of the U.S. Meat Export Federation, to talk about the latest on increasing profitability of U.S. beef, pork and lamb exports.
"We are on a record pace," Halstrom said. "Demand is booming and it is broad-based demand - Japan, Korea, Mexico, but also emerging markets like Colombia, Peru and some of the Central American countries."
China is also a big market to U.S. meat exports - especially beef, Halstrom added. As far as Halstrom can tell, he described the export market growth as sustainable.
"(We) estimate we are going to finish up this year, for China, at about $1.6 billion in sales, which would make it our third-largest market," Halstrom said.
He said he estimates the growth rate to taper down into 2022 but said the trend line will stay very positive. Having the Chinese market is beneficial for U.S. meat exports because it helps to drive value within other, similar Asian markets, he added.
In all, Halstrom said he expects USMEF expects to see more than $10 billion in global sales for U.S. beef, setting a new record.
As devastating as the COVID-19 pandemic has been, it has provided some opportunities, Halstrom said.
"We are just now coming out of COVID-19 lockdowns in Asia - this in an opportunity," Halstrom said.
For the last year, many Asian countries have had limited food-service capabilities, causing folks to have to learn to cook beef at home, according to Halstrom. At the same time, pork populations in Asia are low because of ASF, shrinking the price difference between pork and beef.
As things begin to open back up, Halstrom said he is watching for what some call "revenge spending" to fuel demand.
Hit the LISTEN BAR below to hear Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Associate Director KC Sheperd talk with Dan Halstrom about the current state of U.S. meat exports, shipping goods, what role producers can play and more.
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