The COVID-19 pandemic caused a ripple effect, or tidal wave if you prefer, through the economy. Not just the agriculture sector. However, agriculture has been suffering trade wars and low prices for years, so this is the last thing we needed.
Audio: Full interview with USMEF President & CEO Dan Halstrom
With over half the year gone, people have started looking at how the year has shaped up so far. The red meat industry is no exception. The U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) compiled the data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and looked at how June finished out, and what the first half of 2020 was like for exports of red meats. The numbers were not bad, all things considered.
I spoke with Dan Halstrom, President & CEO of the USMEF. He first recapped the June export numbers for us. While we did see a drop in pork exports, the performance has been good overall. The beef came in 33% lower in the month. He told me they had hoped to see a rebound from May?s lower numbers. Halstrom says the year has been ?unusual?, but the supply chain is still adjusting. The yearly figures still show strong pork exports and only a slight drop in beef.
Halstrom told me that despite the pandemic, global demand for beef and pork is still growing. It was growing better pre-COVID, but the numbers are still respectable. USMEF has been watching the effects of COVID-19 on our exports since January. While it had not exploded in the U.S., it was hitting our trading partners. The foodservice industry took a hit globally, and that was a big chunk of exports. However, Halstrom said despite the pandemic, people have not stopped eating. The demand is still strong, if not stronger, on the retail side.
Halstrom still thinks that we will see significant growth in pork exports. On the beef side, he is optimistic. He is hopeful that beef could still beat last year?s numbers, it is a bigger question mark.
Most in the meat industry agree that pork and beef should come out of the pandemic in relatively decent shape, barring any further outbreaks of COVID-19.
While that is good news for the industry as a whole, one check of the market prices shows that not every sector of the meat industry is as optimistic about their survival. However, that is a discussion for another time.
