March 20, 2008

US beef exports rise 25 percent in 2007

The US beef exports rose 25 percent while imports decreased 1 percent in 2007 from the previous year, according to the USDA's Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook.

Beef exports totalled 1.43 billion pounds as the US regained entry to the beef markets it lost due to mad cow disease in 2003.

Despite import restrictions, the US was able to export about 34,100 tonnes to Japan.

In 2007, US beef exports to Mexico, the largest customer for US beef, declined but was offset by exports to Canada. Taiwan was also a strong market for US beef, while Vietnam and Hong Kong emerged as growing markets.

The USDA forecasts a 19 percent increase in exports this year as the US re-enters Asian markets.

Large domestic supplies and the weakness of the US dollar caused the decrease in US beef imports.

Increased cow slaughter in Q4 2007 led to large supplies of domestic processing meat. This reduced the need for imported processing beef.

The US dollar weakened against the currencies of its major beef suppliers namely Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Uruguay, making these countries' beef more expensive in the US.

Decreased demand for foreign beef and higher prices caused imports to decline to 624 million, down 13 percent from Q4 2006.

This year, the US projects beef imports to reach 3.07 billion pounds.