An Exception in Beef Demand

With you Southeast Regional Ag News, I’m Haylie Shipp. This is the Ag Information Network.

The United States is the exception to the current rule when it comes to beef demand and I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing. A) The United States consumer is hungry for beef. B) Other than in the U.S., beef markets around the world are seeing softer consumer demand.

That synopsis is coming from a Rabobank Q3 Global Beef Quarterly Report says cattle prices are split into two groups: those in North America and Europe, and those in the rest of the world. Declining supplies and strong consumer demand in the U.S. are driving cattle prices higher, and lower domestic beef supply has also held up prices in Canada and Europe. It’s the opposite in most other regions, where increased supply and lower demand are making prices softer.

Rabobank says U.S. cattle prices have increased almost 30 percent over the past 12 months, while Australian cattle prices have dropped by more than 30 percent, calling it the largest spread they’ve seen in the past decade. In a number of regions, particularly in Asia, beef purchases made in anticipation of COVID recovery haven’t been consumed yet, leaving supply chains full.