U.S. shipments to China, worth around $120 million a month, collapsed after Beijing in March allowed permits to expire at hundreds of American meat facilities amid a tit-for-tat trade war.
However, U.S. beef exports have generally declined in recent years as drought shrank the country’s cattle herd, reducing production and pushing prices to record highs, but the drop in trade with China has been farm more sudden and extreme.
The value of U.S. beef sent to China tumbled to $8.1 million in July and $9.5 million August, according to Chinese trade data, compared to $118 million and $125 million in the same months a year earlier.
Brazil, China’s largest beef supplier, has also stepped up exports in recent months, but Australia has benefited most as its grain-fed beef is the closest equivalent to U.S. products.
Reuters quoted U.S. Meat Export Federation spokesperson Joe Schuele, who stated, “The beef impasse with China has very little to do with beef. It’s entangled in other issues between the U.S. and China. If they can make progress on those issues, we see more hope for getting this resolved.” Schuele also noted that we still need to export the cuts that do not attract a lot of attention in the domestic market, “we’re losing out on the upward pressure of the Chinese bids.”
However, even with a trade agreement, Matt Dalgleigh, a meat and livestock analyst at Australian consultants indicated that even with a trade agreement, the U.S. would struggle to take back market share for several years.
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