Beef Highlights:

December 2021:

Beef: 95,557 mt, +2%, $881 million, +33% and the third highest value after August and November
BVM: 25,872 mt, +0%, $111 million, +32% and the second highest after November
Beef + BVM: 121,429 mt, +1%, $992 million, +33% and third highest value after November and August

January – December 2021:

Beef: 1.140 mt, +17%, $9.490 billion, +40%
BVM: 300,297 mt, +8%, $1.086 billion, +24%
Beef + BVM: 1.440 mil mt, +15%, $10.576 billion, +38%

December beef muscle cut exports totaled 95,557 mt, up 2% from 2020 and up 13% (or +11,200 mt) from December 2019.  Beef muscle cut export value was the third highest on record after August and November 2021 at $881 million.  December beef muscle cut exports were higher than last year in volume to Korea (+2,800 mt), China/HK (+2,600 mt), Canada (+1,700 mt), Taiwan (+1,400 mt), South America (+1,100 mt), Caribbean + DR (+860 mt), EU27 + UK (+400 mt), Central America (+160 mt), and the Middle East (+30 mt), while exports were lower to Mexico (-7,700 mt), Japan (-1,300 mt), and ASEAN (-530 mt).  Exports to Korea (20,463 mt, +16%) were higher year-over-year for the fourth consecutive month but slowed to the lowest level since June.  Exports to Japan (19,593 mt, -6%) slowed from November and were down year-over-year but were up 1% from December 2019.  Combined exports to China/HK totaled 19,007 mt, slowing from the August high of 24,075 mt but up 16% from last year.   Exports to China (16,756 mt, +87%) were the highest since September and the fourth highest overall, while exports to Hong Kong (2,251 mt, -70%) slowed further.  December exports to Canada (10,735 mt, +19%) were the highest since 2016.  Exports to Mexico (8,982 mt, -46%) were down sharply from the strong rebound during the 4^th quarter of 2020 and were down 17% from December 2019.  Exports to Taiwan (5,746 mt, +32%) ended the year on a strong note, with the December volume the fourth highest of the year after June – August.  Beef exports to Colombia (1,621 mt, +250%) were record large for the third consecutive month and nearly the doubled the previous record of 867 mt set in November, but exports to Chile (578 mt, -17%) slowed to the lowest level since January.  Exports were higher to Indonesia (976 mt, +34%) but were lower to the Philippines (562 mt, -23%) and Vietnam (479 mt, -40%).  Exports to the DR (813 mt, +144%) were the third highest on record, and exports continued to be higher to Guatemala (573 mt, +54%) and Costa Rica (386 mt, +30%).  Exports to the UAE (670 mt, +30%) were the highest since 2017, but exports were lower year-over-year to Kuwait (307 mt, -17%).  Exports to the Bahamas (268 mt, +37%) were the highest since August, and exports to the Netherlands Antilles (265 mt, +32%) were the highest since Feb 2020.

December beef variety meat exports totaled 25,872 mt, the highest since September, steady with 2020 but down 4% from 2019.  Compared to last December, beef variety meat exports were higher to China/HK (+920 mt), Korea (+610 mt), Middle East (+570 mt), and Caribbean + DR (+10 mt), while exports were lower to Mexico (-640 mt), South America (-520 mt), Japan (-520 mt), ASEAN (-270 mt), Africa (-60 mt), Central America (-40 mt), and Canada (-30 mt).  Beef variety meat exports to Mexico (9,947 mt, -6%) were the highest since last December.  Exports to Egypt (5,127 mt, +14%) and Canada (653 mt, -4%) were the highest since May.  Exports to Japan (3,790 mt, -12%) slowed to the lowest level since January.  Combined exports to China/HK (2,556 mt, +56%) were the highest since 2000.  Exports to China (1,790 mt, +133%) were the highest since the market reopened, while exports were lower to Hong Kong (766 mt, -12%).  Exports to Korea (1,128 mt, +117%) were the highest since March 2020.  Exports to South Africa (496 mt, -29%) rebounded somewhat from the recent low of 362 mt in November but remained off levels for December in recent years.  Exports to Gabon (435 mt, +108%) were the highest since January 2020 and exports to Cote d’Ivoire (144 mt, +9%) were the highest since August, but exports sowed to Angola (82 mt, -49%).  Exports to Jamaica (319 mt, +53%) were higher year-over-year for the second consecutive month.  Beef variety meat exports to Indonesia (286 mt, -53%) slowed to the lowest level since October 2020.  For the year, beef variety meat exports to Peru were the highest since 2014, but December exports to Peru (198 mt, -54%) slowed to the lowest level in recent years.  Exports to Colombia (148 mt, -11%) also trended lower.

January – December beef and variety meat exports totaled a record 1.440 million mt, up 15% or +185,000 mt year-over-year, with value at a record $10.58 billion, up 38% or +$2.9 billion.  Exports were larger in volume than 2020 for China/HK (+112,000 mt), Korea (+33,900 mt), Japan (+14,600 mt), South America (+7,800 mt), Mexico (+7,700 mt), Central America (+7,200 mt), Caribbean + DR (+5,900 mt), ASEAN (+4,500 mt), Middle East (+3,600 mt), EU27 + UK (+460 MT), and Surrounding Russia Region (+10 mt), while exports were lower to Africa (-7,900 mt), Canada (-4,000 mt), and Taiwan (-660 mt).

December beef exports accounted for 12.6% of production and 15.0% when adding variety meats, the same as December 2020.  January – December 2021 beef exports accounted for 12.8% of production and 15.0% when adding variety meats, compared to 11.3% and 13.5% for January – December 2020. 

December beef export value per head of fed slaughter averaged $464.49/head, up 33% or +$115.39/head from $349.10/head in December 2020.  January – December 2021 beef export value per head of fed slaughter averaged $407.22/head, up 35% or +$104.92/head from $302.31/head for January – December 2020. 

Source: USMEF