American Beef Export Trade Stats: February 2026

 

February 2026:

Beef: 60,986 mt, -21%; $617 million, -15%
BVM: 24,081 mt, +12%; $106 million, +40%
Beef + BVM: 85,066 mt, -13%; $723 million, -10%

January – February 2026:

Beef: 126,032 mt, -18% and the lowest since 2016; $1.271 billion, -12% and the lowest since 2021
BVM: 5 1,592 mt, +9% and the highest since 2020; $232 million, +43% and an all-time high
Beef + BVM: 177,624 mt, -12% and the lowest since 2016; $1.503 billion, -6% and the lowest since 2023

February beef muscle cut exports totaled 60,985 mt, down 21% or -15,750 mt year-over-year and the lowest for the month of February since 2016.  However, export value was just the lowest for the month of February since 2021 at $617 million, down 15%.

  • Compared to the previous year, January beef muscle cut exports were higher to Caribbean + DR (+376 mt), South America (+302 mt), Middle East (+276 mt), Central America (+264 mt), EU27 + UK (+263 mt), ASEAN (+122 mt), Africa (+27 mt), and CIS (+6 mt), while exports were lower to China/HK (-8,087 mt), Japan (-4,131 mt), South Korea (-3,030 mt), Canada (-1,272 mt), Mexico (-550 mt), and Taiwan (-319 mt).
  • February beef muscle cut exports to South Korea slowed to 14,898 mt, down 17% from last year and the lowest since November.   
  • Exports to Japan also slowed to the lowest level since December 2015 at 12,463 mt in February, down 25% from last year. 
  • February exports to Mexico were below year-ago levels for the eleventh consecutive month at 7,850 mt, down 6.5% year-over-year, but volumes did rebound 5% from the previous month.
  • February beef exports to Canada were 6,487 mt, down 16% from last year
  • December exports to Taiwan reached 5,650 mt, down 8% year-over-year but the second highest monthly volume in 2025.  Exports were 4,663 mt in January, which was up 49% year-over-year, but in February, exports slowed to 3,667 mt, down 8% from last year.
  • September combined exports to China/HK dropped to 3,846 mt, down 75% from 2024 or down 11,360 mt.  This was the lowest combined volume since 2012.  In October, volumes rebounded modestly to 4,345 mt, which was down 76% year-over-year.  In November, exports totaled 4,921 mt, down 70%.  December exports totaled 5,747 mt, down 65% year-over-year but the highest since April.  In January 2026, exports adjusted down again to 4,725 mt, which was down 71% from last year.  February exports totaled 5,510 mt, down 59% or -8,087 mt from last year.  February exports to China were 694 mt, the lowest since November and down 94% from last year.  Exports to HK were 4,816 mt, up 164% from last year.  
  • For the ASEAN region, exports were higher to Singapore and Vietnam, but lower to the Philippines and steady to Indonesia in February.  After reaching a monthly high of 2,759 mt in November, December exports to Indonesia were 1,160 mt, up significantly from minimal volumes the previous year.  January exports slowed to 755 mt, and in February, exports were just 57 mt, steady year-over-year but the lowest since August.  Exports increased to Singapore (399 mt, +77%) and Vietnam (352 mt, +73%).  Exports to the Philippines had been over 1,400 mt each month from April through September 2025 and were nearly 1,100 mt in October before volumes slowed at the end of the year.  In January 2026, exports were only 436 mt, the lowest since August 2023, but in February, exports rebounded to 942 mt, down 14.5% from last year but the highest since October.
  • For the Caribbean, beef muscle cut exports to the DR reached a monthly record of 1,137 mt in February, up 43% from last year.  After reaching a monthly record of 355 mt in January, exports to the Netherlands Antilles remained strong at 336 mt in February, up 49% from last year.   Exports to Bahamas were also strong at 386 mt, up 23%.  After rebounding to 247 mt in November, exports to Cuba were just 4 mt in December and 11 mt in January.  Exports were again just 4 mt in February, down from 132 mt last year. 
  • Exports to Guatemala reached 989 mt in February, up 29% from last year.  This was the highest monthly volume since May 2024 and was the third highest monthly total on record.  Exports to Costa Rica were 349 mt, up 4% from last year and the highest since last March.
  • Exports to Chile rebounded to 321 mt in February, up 3% from last year.  Exports to Colombia were 451 mt, up 229% and the highest since October.  Exports to Peru were also higher at 155 mt, up 72%. 
  • After totaled 629 mt in January, which was the highest since March, exports to the UAE remained strong in February at 529 mt, up 68% from last year.

 

February beef variety meat exports were 24,081 mt, up 12 % or +2,618 from last year.  This follows large volumes of  28,394 mt in December and 27,511 mt in January, which were the highest since 2022.

  • In February, bvm exports were higher than last year to Japan (+2,175 mt), Mexico (+955 mt), Taiwan (+533 mt), South Korea (+522 mt), and Canada (+114 mt), while exports were lower to the Middle East (-370 mt), ASEAN (-331 mt), Africa (-287 mt), Central America (-265 mt), China/HK (-243 mt), Caribbean + DR (-167 mt), and South America (-42 mt). 
  • BVM exports to Mexico jumped to 11,755 mt in December, up 12% year-over-year and the highest since January (and otherwise the highest since 2016).  Exports to Mexico remained strong at 10,968 mt in January, but that was down 8% from last year’s strong total.  February exports maintained momentum at 10,100 mt, up 10% year-over-year.
  • Exports to Canada totaled 758 mt, up 18% year-over-year after being below year-ago levels for the three months prior.
  • Volumes to Japan were over 5,000 mt each month in Q4 2025, and in January, exports increased to 6,137 mt, up 88% from last year and the highest since September 2021.  Volume eased to 4,668 mt in February, the lowest since last September, but still up significantly from year-ago at +87%.  
  • Exports to South Korea jumped to 1,436 mt in January, up 88% from last year, and the highest since October 2023.  Exports remained strong at 1,134 mt in February, up 85%.  BVM exports to South Korea were above year-ago levels for the tenth consecutive month in January.
  • Combined bvm exports to China/HK rebounded to 2,631 mt in December, up 3% year-over-year and the highest since November 2024 before slowing again to 1,787 mt in January, which was down 28% from last year.  In February, exports slowed further to 1,575 mt, down 13% from last year.  February exports to HK were 1,575 mt, up 118%, while there were no exports to China (following just 96 mt to China in Jan), down from 1,094 mt last year.
  • Exports to Taiwan were over 900 mt and the highest since 2000 for the second consecutive month in January at 968 mt, up from 0 mt last year.  Exports slowed somewhat in February to 533 mt, but that was still up significantly from 0 mt last Feb.  
  • For the ASEAN region, reported exports to Indonesia slowed from an average of 227 mt per month in Q4 2025 to just 46 mt in January 2026, which was down 33% from last year  No exports to Indonesia were reported in February, down from 379 mt last year.  February exports to Philippines were 114 mt, up 90% from last year and the highest since November.  Exports to Vietnam were 80 mt, down 7% year-over-year.
  • In South America, exports to Peru rebounded to 756 mt in December, up 42% year-over-year and the highest since October 2024.  In January, exports slowed again to 421 mt, but that was up 48% from last year.  February exports were again higher year-over-year at 503 mt, up 227%.  Exports to Chile were 270 mt in January, the highest since June and up 170% from the previous year.  Exports to Chile slowed to 96 mt in February, which was down from over 500 mt last February.  Exports to Colombia totaled 140 mt in February, up 119% and the highest since March 2024.
  • Exports to Jamaica were 104 mt in February, down 29%.
  • In 2025, bvm exports to Egypt were down just 1% year-over-year at nearly 38,000 mt.  In December 2025, exports totaled 3,532 mt, up 46% year-over-year and the highest since January.  But in January 2026, exports slowed to 3,210 mt, which was down 20% from last year’s relatively large total.  February exports to Egypt slowed further to 2,962 mt, down 11% from last year and the lowest since July.  
  • Negligible volumes of bvm were shipped to South Africa from Q4 of 2024 through August 2025, and no exports were reported in June or July 2025.  Exports of 132 mt were reported in August, and exports of 136 mt were reported in September.  In Q4 2025, exports averaged 265 mt per month and reached 312 mt in December, which was the highest since September 2024.  Exports increased further to 512 mt in January 2025, the highest since July 2024 and up from just 49 mt last January.  Exports slowed to 290 mt in February, the lowest in three months, but that was up from no exports in February 2025.  Exports to Morocco jumped to 460 mt in February with the new duty-free quota year, similar to exports last Feb of 476 mt.  Exports to Cote d’Ivoire have slowed sine the second half of last year, but there were 51 mt of exports reported in Feb, up from no exports in January.  The Feb total was down from 349 mt last year.

    January – February beef muscle cut + variety meat exports totaled 177,624 mt, down 12% or -23,414 mt from 2025.  Exports were higher year-over-year to Taiwan (+2,705 mt), South America (+443 mt), Caribbean + DR (+414 mt), EU27 + UK (+329 mt), ASEAN (+233 mt), and CIS (+4 mt), while exports were lower to China/HK (-20,576 mt), Canada (-2,200 mt), South Korea (-1,828 mt), Japan (-1,076 mt), Mexico (-843 mt), the Middle East (-726 mt), Africa (-251 mt), and Central America (-22 mt).

    February 2026 beef exports accounted for 9.9% of production and 12.9% when adding variety meats, compared to 11.9% and 14.2% in February 2025.  January – February 2026 beef exports accounted for 9.7% of production and 12.8% when adding variety meats, compared to 10.9% and 13.4% for January – February 2025. 

    February 2026 beef export value per head of fed slaughter averaged $422.87/head, down 2% or -$10.03/head from $432.90/head in February 2025.  January – February 2026 beef export value per head of fed slaughter averaged $418.83/head, up 5% or +$19.49/head from $399.34/head for January – February 2025.   

    Source: USMEF