Beef Exports in 2026
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson. It’s true American agriculture is suffering overall from many economic issues over the past few years. But the meat industry is surviving.
Dan Halstrom, President of the U.S. Meat Export Federation, says yes, China is causing some headaches, but other Asian markets are doing well for beef …
HALSTROM … “Down just slightly if you take China out of the mix. Korea, our largest market, 8-9% growth over a year ago, and it was almost a record last year. So, we’re very happy with where Korea is at.”
And, Halstrom says it goes beyond just Asian markets …
HALSTROM … “The other part that’s really performing is Latin America on beef. You know, Mexico, Central America setting records in Central America. And keep in mind, that’s with record high prices this last summer.”
So, are the Asian markets picking up what’s lost from China’s absence? …
HALSTROM … “Yeah, we’re seeing the product mix diversify amongst Japan, Korea, Taiwan picking up the slack. It’s probably less of an issue with the lower supply, right, versus if it had been the peak supply.”
But, Halstrom says it would be nice to get China back in the mix …
HALSTROM … “The big opportunity value-wise is to get China back in because, what happens then? It’s a halo-effect on pricing. Pricing will go up in all these markets which will help our cutout. So, yeah, we’re getting by without China, but it would be better to have them.”
Again, that is Dan Halstrom, President and CEO at the U.S. Meat Export Federation.
