Agricultural News
LMIC's Jim Robb Says US Beef Exports Finally Catch Up to Speed While Imports are Larger Than Expected
Thu, 11 Jul 2019 10:42:16 CDT
The latest beef export and import numbers have arrived from the US Department of Agriculture and compiled by the US Meat Export Federation. Jim Robb, senior economist for the Livestock Marketing Information Center, says based on the data exports so far this year are performing as well as anyone could have hope while imports have come in a bit larger than anticipated overall.
"This is kind of a plus and a minus here," Robb remarked. "Starting with the import side, we were surprised. Year over year the imports from Australia as they continue to have a very severe drought - were up 30 percent. And other countries, Brazil and Uruguay are also selling more to the US."
In total, US beef imports climbed 6 percent during the month of May. Much more than what was expected to happen this year, Robb says. On the flip side, though, exports have finally caught up to last year's robust level after trudging through a slow start here in 2019. According to the data, the US had strong gains year over year in Mexico (up 3%), South Korea (up 10%), Vietnam (up 14%) and in other countries (up 6%).
"We really narrowed the gap in the month of May and we were right no a year ago's level - so no more year to year decline," he said. "We lagged a little bit into China and Hong Kong and Canada, but to get those exports pulled back to last year's robust level I think is making good progress. Now, we'll see how we move forward into the rest of the summer."
Listen to Robb's full analysis of the latest export/import data and what other factors are playing into the market currently, by listening to today's Beef Buzz with Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays.
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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