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Record year for red meat exports adds value to producers
2021 was a record year for beef exports in terms of volume and value, and a record value year for pork. The head of the US Meat Export Federation says that’s good news for US producers.
Beef exports surpassed $10 billion in value for the first time last year and president and CEO Dan Halstrom says investments in demand return significant value back to producers, especially on the beef side. “For the year, we came in at roughly $407 per fed steer, per head,” he says. “This is a record and is up 35% from 2020.”
Pork exports added nearly $63 of value per head in 2021, an increase of 7%.
He tells Brownfield variety meat exports are also critical to increasing the value of products. Halstrom says beef variety meats saw a big jump in demand last year. “Of our $10.6B in exports, over $1B of it was variety meats,” he says. “Some of these products that we don’t consume a lot of in the US have a lot of value overseas.”
And while muscle cuts to China/Hong Kong declined in 2021 for pork, variety meat exports increased significantly in both volume and value.
AUDIO: Dan Halstrom, US Meat Export Federation
