Beef Highlights:

March 2025:

Beef: 85,970 mt, +1%; $831 million, +4% and the highest since June
BVM: 23,360 mt, +1%; $90.5 million, -2% but the highest since August
Beef + BVM: 109,330 mt, +1%; $923 million, +4% and the highest since June

January – March 2025:

Beef: 153,737 mt, -2%; $1.442 billion, +2%
BVM: 47,301 mt, +2%; $162 million, -9%
Beef + BVM: 201,038 mt, -1%; $1.605 billion, +1%

March beef muscle cut exports totaled 85,960 mt, up 1% or +790 mt from 2024.   

Compared to the previous year, March beef muscle cut exports were higher to Taiwan (+1,284 mt), Japan (+509 mt), Central America (+403 mt), Mexico (+361 mt), EU 27 + UK (+227 mt), Caribbean + DR (+80 mt), South America (+55 mt), Africa (+53 mt), China/HK (+35 mt), Middle East (+14 mt), and CIS (+6 mt), while exports were lower to South Korea (-1,045 mt), ASEAN (-956 mt), and Canada (-275 mt). 

Exports to Japan gained momentum for the third consecutive month and totaled 18,142 mt in March, up 3% from last year and the highest since July.

Exports to South Korea had been higher year-over-year in recent months, but in March, exports totaled 20,123 mt, down 5% from last year. 

Exports to Mexico were below year-ago levels from December through February, but in March, exports were 4% higher than last year at 8,446 mt. 

Exports to Canada slowed to the lowest level since November at 7,034 mt in March, which was down 4% from last year.

After being below 4,000 mt in both Jan and Feb, exports to Taiwan rebounded to 5,086 mt in March, which was up 34% from last year. 

Following a slow month in February, combined exports to China/HK totaled 16,419 mt in March, up slightly year-over-year and the highest since December.  Exports to China were 14,308 mt, up slightly, and exports to HK were 2,111 mt, up 0.5%.

For the ASEAN region, exports to Vietnam (329 mt, +7%) were the highest since November, but exports were lower to the Philippines (1,037 mt, -18%) and Singapore (208 mt, -40%).  Exports to Indonesia were 45 mt, down from 644 mt last year and near zero for the fourth consecutive month.

For the Caribbean, exports to the DR reached a record high at 1,109 mt, up 8.5% from last year.  Exports were also higher to the Bahamas (331 mt, +15%), Netherlands Antilles (311 mt, +29%), and the Leeward Windward Islands (209 mt, +62%).  Exports to Cuba have been slower since the second half of 2024.  March exports to Cuba were 268 mt, the highest since June, but down 32% from last year.

For Central America, exports to Guatemala (818 mt, +24%) and Panama (+334 mt, +40%) were the highest since November.  Exports were also higher to Costa Rica (387 mt, +11%).

In South America, exports to Chile (256 mt, +32%) were higher than the previous year for the fifth consecutive month, and exports to Peru (152 mt, +31%) were the highest since September.  Exports to Colombia rebounded a bit from February but remained sluggish in March at 214 mt, down 24% from last year.

For the Middle East, exports to UAE rebounded to 764 mt, up 47% from last year and the highest since April.  Exports were lower year-over-year to Qatar (145 mt, -33%) for the fourth consecutive month and to Kuwait (104 mt, -59% for the second month).

March beef variety meat exports totaled 23,360 mt, up 1% or +322 mt from last year. 

Exports were higher than last year to Mexico (+603 mt), Africa (+600 mt), China/HK (+358 mt), Canada (+235 mt), South America (+32 mt), and Central America (+4 mt), while exports were lower to the Middle East (-781 mt), Japan (-238 mt), Korea (-222 mt), Caribbean + DR (-215 mt), and ASEAN (-49 mt).

In February, beef variety meat exports to Mexico dropped to 9,145 mt, which was down 9% from last year and the lowest since June.  In March, exports held at those levels and totaled 9,146 mt, but that was up 7% from last year.

In January, exports to Canada reached the highest level in over ten years at 1,300 mt before slowing to 644 mt to February.  In March, exports rebounded to 1,118 mt, which was up 27% from last year and the largest since 2020 apart from the large January total.  

Exports to Japan dropped to the lowest level since 2020 to 2,493 mt in February, but in March, volumes rebounded to 3,541 mt, the highest since December but down 6% from last year.

Exports to South Korea (715 mt, -24%) were below year-ago levels for the twelfth consecutive month.

Combined exports to Chink/HK were 2,447 mt, up 17% from last year.  Exports to China were 1,599 mt, up 7% from last year, while exports to HK were 848 mt, up 44%.

March exports to the ASEAN were minimal: Philippines (85 mt, -23%), Indonesia (71 mt, -50%), and Vietnam (47 mt, up from 0 mt). 

Exports to Chile (554 mt, +378%) were the largest since February 2024 and were over 500 mt for the second consecutive month.  Exports to Peru were at the lowest level since April 2022 for the second consecutive month at 113 mt in March, down 77% from last year.  Exports to Colombia (51 mt, -71%) and the lowest level since October.

Exports to Jamaica (198 mt, +22%) were the highest since November.

Following two relatively strong months in January and February of this year, March exports to Egypt slowed to 3,141 mt, down 20% from last year.

Following no reported beef variety meat exports to South Africa in February, volumes were just 24 mt in March (down from 359 mt in March 2024 and 1,665 mt in March 2023).  However, beef variety meat exports set a record to Morocco (620 mt, up 553%), exports to Cote d’Ivoire (534 mt, up significantly) were the highest since 2018, and exports were also higher year-over-year to Gabon (294 mt, +37%).

January - March beef muscle cut + variety meat exports totaled 310,368 mt, down 0.5% or -1,550 mt from 2024.  Exports were higher year-over-year to Canada (+2,932 mt), China/HK (+1,917 mt), Africa (+479 mt), Central America (+310 mt), EU 27 + UK (+249 mt), Taiwan (+100 mt), and CIS (+9 mt).  Exports were lower to Japan (-2,846 mt), Mexico (-1,638 mt), South Korea (-789 mt), South America (-778 mt), Middle East (-534 mt), ASEAN (-479 mt), and Caribbean (-468 mt).

March 2025 beef exports accounted for 12.5% of production and 14.8% when adding variety meats, compared to 12.6% and 15.0% in March 2024.  January – March 2025 beef exports accounted for 11.5% of production and 13.8% when adding variety meats, compared to 11.6% and 13.9% for January – March 2024. 

March 2025 beef export value per head of fed slaughter averaged $466.77/head, up 3% or +$12.15/head from $454.62/head in March 2024.  January – March 2025 beef export value per head of fed slaughter averaged $421.56/head, up 3.3% or +$13.63/head from $407.93/head for January – March 2024. 

Source: USMEF