Cattlemen's Beef Board Pt 1

Cattlemen's Beef Board Pt 1

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
I’m Bob Larson. Trade and exports is one of the most talked-about subjects for U.S. producers these days and it’s no different for the beef industry.

Hugh Sanburg, secretary treasurer for the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, says the beef export market has been strong the past couple of years …

SANBURG … “Actually, in 2018, we set a record at $8.33 billion. This year, we’ll be down slightly, but almost flat, anticipating next year with some of the movement in trade negotiations with Japan, that we could approach $9 billion in exports next year, which adds about $320 a head per carcass on the export value.”

And no matter the market, Sanburg says there’s something for everyone …

SANBURG … “One of the unique things that the export market allows us to do is to more fully-utilize the carcass because we send underutilized cuts to other countries. An extreme example is sending beef lips to Mexico for tacos at $1.60 a pound. If they stayed in this country, they would more than like go into rendering and would be a very low value product.”

So, are U.S. beef producers optimistic moving forward? …

SANBURG … “I believe so. I mean, there’s been a lot of news about China, but China will be a slow-maturing market. It’s an extremely large market, but I think in the near term we’re going to be focusing on those markets that have expanded exponentially actually in the Pacific Rim, Taiwan, Korea, Japan.”

And, Sanburg says the African Swine Fever outbreak should increase Asia’s demand for protein.

Listen tomorrow for more.

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