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China and Hong Kong were the main beef export markets for the US in October, taking 26,170t, 21% more than in October 2021.
This brings volumes for the year to date to 243,198t, 23% higher than last year, with only Japan and South Korea taking larger volumes.
The value of US beef sales to China and Hong Kong are $2.23bn (€2.12bn) for the first 10 months, 32% higher than last year and making this the second-highest value for US beef exports after South Korea.
US beef exports to China had all but stopped during the US-China trade war, which only ended in the last year of the Trump presidency. Incredibly, Ireland had exported more beef to China than the US in the first five months of 2020, but while Irish exports ceased at that point because of a BSE case, US beef exports have gone from strength to strength.
Other markets
It wasn’t just the Chinese market that delivered for US beef exporters in 2022. Overall US beef exports have already exceeded $10bn (€9.6bn) in the first 10 months of 2022, having done so for the first time in 2021.
The volume for the first 10 months is up 4% on the same period last year to 1.25m tonnes, with 125,466t in total exported in October, 8% more than in October 2021, but the value was down 3% to $929.8m (€886m) reflecting an exceptionally strong dollar value compared with Asian currencies.
The EU remains a tiny market for US beef exports
Japan remains the top beef export market for the US, taking 260,318t, despite a drop in volume of 46,141t in the first 10 months of 2022.
Export volumes to Korea, on the other hand, increased, up 4% to 244,052t, which is just marginally ahead of China in volume for 2022 year to date.
Despite being down 9%, Mexico remains the next most important market for US beef exports, taking 148,846t in the first 10 months of 2022.
The EU remains a tiny market for US beef exports, but it has been increasing since it has been given an increased share of the EU high-quality beef quota.
Volumes for the first 10 months of 2022 were 16,750t, up 50% from 11,179t in the same period in 2021.
The US is unique in the global beef trade because it is in the top three exporters and importers of beef globally, with each exceeding 1m tonnes annually.
What is also remarkable is that the US has a dominant position in the highest value premium markets in the Middle East and Asia, with grain beef that has been produced with the assistance of growth hormones, which are banned in the EU.
What is also interesting is that US beef exports have held up so well this year, despite cattle costs to factories running in excess of €5/kg equivalent for several months.
Despite much lower cattle prices than their US counterparts, Ireland has failed to make inroads to the Japanese market where the US dominates for imported beef.
Korea has still to be opened, while China remains closed, despite having been opened for a brief period. Perhaps 2023 will see some progress in developing these clearly lucrative Asian markets for Irish beef.
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