August 2, 2007

US May beef exports up by 6.9 percent

After recent years of harsh trade due to mad cow plague, US beef exports continues to surge as it shipped 126 million pounds in May this year, up 6.9 percent from the previous period last year.  Government statistics show that from year-to-date, beef exports are almost 16 percent higher than for the first five months of 2006. 

Exports to Mexico have been lower than historical levels but shipments to Japan, South Korea and Canada have shown significant increases. In May, exports to Japan were 13.8 percent higher than last year, posting its tenth consecutive month of on-year increases. For January through May, exports to Japan were five times larger than the same period last year while South Korean exports were nearly ten times larger for the first five months of the year.

Beef imports into the US were 10.5 percent higher in May 2007 compared to last year, registering higher imports from all countries except from Canada and Brazil. Officials are baffled by this trend as the US cow slaughter continues to rise over demand for ground beef or hamburger. Still, for the first five months of 2007, beef imports into the US were only 1 percent higher than in 2006.

The fed cattle market was about US$1.25 per hundredweight (cwt) higher last week, with live weight prices averaging US$91.19 in Kansas and dressed prices averaging US$141.26 in Nebraska.  The increase came despite a US$2/cwt drop in Choice boxed beef last week while the spread between Choice and Select beef narrowed by $0.15/cwt.  Feeder cattle prices were steady to US$1 higher in Kansas last week, while Nebraska prices were about US$1.50 lower.  The mostly steady feeder prices were consistent with a steady feed market: DDGS price was unchanged for the week, and corn in Omaha, Nebraska was US$0.03/bushel lower.