IARN-American Meat Export Federation stated that this year is a bumper year for beef and pork exports.

According to the latest data released by the US Department of Agriculture, during the trade dialogue at the annual NAFB conference held in Kansas City last week, USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom told IARN that both beef and pork exports have maintained a record pace.

"In terms of demand, 2021 is definitely an extraordinary year," Halstrom said. "Demand is record-breaking. We are expected to set new records for beef and pork in 2021, especially in beef. We will receive US$10 billion in beef exports, which can easily set a record for 2018."

"The beauty of it is," he continued, "it is indeed broad-based growth. This is not just a country. We see Japan and South Korea-our two largest markets-and China's substantial growth. You look at places like the Philippines that are growing, and then you go back to Latin America, where Mexico, Central America, and South America have grown astonishingly compared to a year ago. The same is true for widespread growth in pork. The difference It’s that China is declining, while the rest of the world is rising. It looks pretty good."

Beef exports in September were one of the best months on record, and their value increased by nearly 60% over last year. The volume of pork exports was slightly lower than in September last year, but the value still increased by 8%.

China has been the main source of U.S. beef export growth in 2021. As of September, exports increased by 672% year-on-year to 138.041 metric tons, and exports increased by 761% to US$1.12 billion. As of September, exports to mainland China and Hong Kong had increased by 131% in total, reaching 176,694 tons, worth 1.49 billion U.S. dollars-already breaking the previous value record of 1.15 billion U.S. dollars set in 2014.

For more information about this story, including an interview with USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom, please visit the Iowa Agribusiness Broadcasting Network.

Pictured here; Dan Halstrom (left) talking with IARN's Brent Barnett at the 2021 NAFB conference in Kansas City. (Photo by Joe Schuler/USMEF)