Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, is talking with the president and CEO of the United States Meat Export Federation, Dan Halstrom, about global demand for U.S. beef.
While the cutout is higher and supplies are shorter, Halstrom said the global demand for U.S. beef remains strong.
“For the most part, price has not been an issue so far, so I think that is a testament to a lot of the work that has been done over the years, and a confidence in U.S. beef,” Halstrom said.
Those year-over-year numbers are under, Halstrom said, but it is important to keep in mind that a year ago was an all-time high.
“We still are on track where we could be second or third largest year ever on exports, so overall, demand still continues to be, I would say, solid,” Halstrom said.
Looking at major customers such as Japan, Korea, and China, Halstrom said the year started off with pretty high inventories, which slowed things down, but there was an uptick in volume in April and May versus the first quarter.
“Keep in mind, we just had an agreement a few weeks ago for the Longshoremen contract for the West Coast dock workers, and this was absolutely huge in my opinion because there was a certain level of uncertainty working without a contract last year,” Halstrom said.
Now that the agreement is in place and the uncertainty has been removed, Halstrom said exporting countries can import without any worries about disruption in that regard.
“The obvious advantage of the West Coast is, logistically, it is the shortest transit time for chilled product over to a lot of these Asian ports,” Halstrom said.
Currently, Halstrom said the international retail sector is continuing to be strong as people are still eating a higher percentage of their meals at home.
“However, with that being said, there is a rebound going on in food service,” Halstrom said. “I would say you are looking at a place like Japan and Korea- they are still lagging, but we are seeing progress being made. Keep in mind, it was only a year ago that the last emergency declarations were lifted on Covid in both Japan and Korea, and it was November and December before China lifted them- a full year to year and a half after the U.S. lifted theirs.”
It is not surprising that food service is still lagging in these countries, Halstrom said, but they will rebound at some point.
“I would say later this year or maybe more likely into early next year, we could see some real significant tailwinds on demand in Asia,” Halstrom said.
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