Beef beyond our borders
Why is that number significant?
That’s what exports added to each beef animal in 2014.
During a Cattlemen’s College session earlier this month in San Antonio, I heard from three experts who had a unified message for producers: global consumers want your beef, they’ll add value to it, and quality counts.
“Our main advantage is premium quality beef,” Jay Theiler, of AgriBeef, told us. “We are recognized as the gold standard around the world. It’s pretty fun to go out and sell our products because of the demand.”
Here are a few quick facts I picked up about beef exports and their potential:
- An estimated 80% to 82% of all grain-fed beef is U.S.-produced.
- Not only is demand good in the here and now, but the future looks even brighter. Today, 96% of the world’s population lives outside the United States.
- 80% of global middle-class growth is projected to come from Asia.
- Trade is also “good risk diversification,” Jay said. For economic growth last year the U.S. ranked 166th out of 196 countries.
So what do exports mean to this brand that makes up about 15% of all fed cattle marketings?
- Certified Angus Beef ® is sold into 80 countries worldwide.
- Around 13.5% of our total sales were in the international division last year. Of that 120 million pounds, 60% were end meats, or items from the chuck and round, compared to the strong domestic demand for such middle meats as strip loins and tenderloins.
- The top CAB international markets are Canada, Mexico, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea, but in the last decade we’ve expanded our presence in popular tourist areas in the Caribbean and in South America.
“The upside potential in the global marketplace for a brand like ours is immense,” our own Larry Corah told session attendees. “The international market is critically important.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
May your bottom line be filled with Black Ink,
Miranda
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To read more coverage of this session, including information port concerns and drop credits, check out the Angus Productions Inc., article: Why Export Markets for Beef are so Valuable.
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