World Beef Trade

Major Players

The US is a major player in the world beef market. Even with a reduced inventory of beef cows, the US is again expected to be the top producer of beef in the world in 2024, with production of just over 12.1 million metric tons of beef (Table 1). The US is also the top consumer of beef, consuming just over 12.7 million metric tons of beef each year.

Table 1. Major Players in the World Beef Market

On the trade front, the US is a top 5 importer and top 5 exporter of beef. In 2023, the US was the leader in value of beef exports (Figure 1) but was 4th in the quantity of beef exported (Figure 2). India recently passed the US to claim the 3rd spot in volume. On the other hand, the US has firmly been the 2nd largest importer of beef in the world, behind only China.

Figure 1. Beef Export Value – Major World Beef Exporters, 2023

Figure 2. Beef Export Quantity – Major World Beef Exporters, 2023

Relative Value of US Beef Imports and Exports

The US typically imports and exports roughly the same amount of beef on a quantity basis. However, in Table 1 we can see that due to lower than usual domestic production, the US is expected to import notably more beef than it exports this year. While there are years when the US is a net importer on a quantity basis, the magnitude is typically not this large. If the US herd begins to expand again and domestic production increases, this gap is expected to decrease.

To get a more detailed look at world beef trade the rest of the data in this article will be Comtrade and/or BACI data not USDA data, so the following tables will not be directly comparable to Table 1. BACI is an international trade dataset assembled by CEPII using the United Nation’s Comtrade data but corrects for inconsistencies. BACI data offers the benefit of reporting both volumes and values of trade goods in most, but not all cases.

Figure 3 shows US beef imports and exports in terms of quantity; Figure 4 shows value, and Figure 5 shows the average price of a metric ton of traded beef. While not directly comparable to Table 1, the data tell a similar story. Over multiple years, the US imports about the same amount of beef as it exports on a quantity basis. Notable exceptions are in the mid-2000’s and mid-2010’s when imports were noticeably higher than exports.

However, notice that on a value basis, exports are typically higher than imports. Furthermore, the average price of US beef exports has always been higher than the average price of US beef imports.

Figure 3. US Beef Trade Quantity

Figure 4. US Beef Trade Value

Figure 5. US Beef Trade Average Price

This implies that the US produces and exports more higher quality cuts than there is demand for domestically and imports lower quality cuts to fill the gaps in consumer demand. In other words, other countries are willing to pay for high quality US beef cuts, so some high-quality cuts are exported. Conversely, the US is a large consumer of ground beef and imports are brought in to help satisfy domestic demand for lower quality cuts of beef. This is also a reflection of the fact that the U.S. cattle herd is very productive and the ratio of high quality cuts produced per fed steer or heifer is greater than the output per cow in other countries.

Major Trade Partners for US Beef

Over the past 5 years, Japan and South Korea have been the top buyers of US beef. Together they make up 46% of US beef exports. Mexico, China, and Hong Kong have also been large buyers of US beef, and combined they make up 29% of US beef exports. The top 5 markets for US beef make up 75% of the value of US beef exports and account for 76% of the volume. Recall US exports are typically higher value products and cuts than US beef imports.

Canada and Mexico, connected to the US by surface transportation, have been the largest suppliers of imported beef to the US and account for 52% of the value of US beef imports and 52% of the volume of beef imports (Table 2). Australia, New Zealand, and Nicaragua are also significant suppliers to beef to the US and combined they account for 36% of the value of beef imports and 36% of the volume. Much of the beef coming in from New Zealand, and Nicaragua is in the form of lean trimmings and beef best-suited for grinding.

Table 2. Major US Beef Trade Partners

Markets of Other Major Importers and Exporter

As noted earlier, the US is not the only major player in the beef market. While the US does some business with most other major players in the market, other major trade relationships in the market are also important to understand. The final part of this article outlines the trade relationships of the top four exporters of beef and the top five importers of beef in the world other than the US.

Table 3 outlines trade relationships of the top four largest exporters of beef other than the US measured by export sales over the 5 years of 2019 through 2023. Only Australia is a top 5 supplier to the US and the US is only 19% of Australia’s beef value of exports and just 17% of their export volume.

Brazil is the world’s largest exporter of beef. China and Hong Kong are major markets for Brazil accounting for over half of its beef exports. Like Brazil, Argentina sends most of its beef exports to China.

Australia is the world’s second largest exporter of beef. Over 80% of Australia’s exports are distributed across five major trade partners: Japan, China, United States, South Korea, and Indonesia. The remaining roughly 20% of Australia’s beef exports are spread across several other countries.

Table 3. Trade Partners of Other Major Exporters

India surpassed the US in beef exports in 2023 to become the third largest exporter of beef in the world. India exports beef to 79 countries. It is expected to retain this rank in 2024 as well. A significant portion of India’s beef production and exports are derived from water buffalo , typically less marbled than beef from the English and European beef breeds common in the US, Canada, and Europe. None of India’s major beef trading partners are one of the top five largest beef importing countries. However, India exports to many Asian countries with its largest trading partner being Vietnam.

Table 4 outlines the trade relationships of the five largest beef importers in the world other than the US. As a major beef exporter, the US appears as a top supplier to 4 of these 5 countries.

China is the world’s largest importer of beef, importing more than $63 billion worth of beef in the past 5 years. Its primary suppliers are the South American countries of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay as well as the southwestern pacific countries of Australia and New Zealand. The US has been the 6th largest supplier of beef to China, but the drop off in volume between New Zealand and the US is significant. The US only averages about 3% of total Chinese beef imports by value over the 5-year period.

While China is not a major market for US beef exports, Japan and South Korea are especially strong sources of US foreign beef demand. Both Japan and South Korea source most of their beef imports from the US and Australia. The US represents 58% of South Korea’s beef imports (by value) and 47% of Japan’s beef imports.

Germany is the world’s fourth largest beef importer by value, although much of Germany’s beef imports are from within the European Union. Much of the EU’s beef imports are sourced from South America (Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay), and the United Kingdom.

Hong Kong is the fifth largest beef importing in the world by value, importing more than $11 billion worth of beef over the past 5 years. Brazil is the largest supplier of beef to Hong Kong being the source for 40% of their beef by value and 52% by volume. The US is the second largest supplier of beef to Hong Kong sending them 25% of their beef by value, but only 12% by volume. The “per ton” price of beef the US sends to Hong Kong average $8,962 per metric ton, more than 2.6 times the price of Brazilian beef sent to Hong Kong. US Beef is a premium product in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and China.

Table 4. Trade Partners of Other Major Importers

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