Agricultural News
LMIC's Jim Robb Keeping an Eye on Beef Byproduct Exports, Showing Signs of Softer Performance
Thu, 26 Oct 2017 11:01:50 CDT
US beef exports have performed exceptionally well over the last few years, showing year to year gains in both volume and value. In 2016, this market had a very good year, but 2017 is proving to be even better. Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays spoke with Jim Robb of the Livestock Marketing Information Center out of Denver recently, who says the latest numbers that have come in on the export markets, including August of this year, have been very, very strong.
"In the summer months we do export our largest tonnage on a seasonal basis," Robb said, pointing out that exports to Japan have been of particular note. "Japan has been a very strong market and year-over-year gains have been almost phenomenal."
Overall, Robb says the meat export market's demand profile has been very supportive and it is a dynamic that he insists is important to keep in mind when looking ahead into the future. Right now, he believes we are on track to surpass the record amount of tonnage exported. As he looks ahead into 2018, he says there is nothing really on the horizon that suggests this dynamic will change. But warns that the international market can be a fickle place. While the world economy continues to grow at a significant rate, he says there is one worry out there that could put a kink in things, referring to drop credits - and more specifically, hides. He worries this might slow things down in the long run.
"We export most of the hides in the US but even the other components, liver and tongue, etc. that are very dependent on exports have been softer," he said. "We actually had some of the lowest values in several years in recent weeks. It's a bit of a quandary as to why we've struggled to export the byproducts that have really lagged here at this point and we're still trying to sort that out."
Listen to Robb and Hays discuss the performance of beef exports in the global markets during 2017, and what potential worries lie there, on today's Beef Buzz.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR below for today's show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
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