International Trade On Pace For Strong Finish For 2014

New trade data shows the U.S. finished 2014 with strong beef exports for the year. The US Department of Agriculture and US Meat Export Federation has released their November beef export numbers. Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrel Peel said November’s export levels were lower, imports were up, but overall for the year U.S. beef exports finished the year on pace with the year before.

“Both of those are things you would expect given the high price of beef in the U.S. as well as the decreased production we had in 2014,” Peel said.

One of the important markets for U.S. beef remains to be our neighbor to the north with Canada. It’s one of our biggest beef export markets, one of largest sources of beef imports and an important source of cattle imports. Peel said there is a very integrated flow of products between the countries.

“We do both import and export, but of course it is different products in many cases,” Peel said. “Preferences are slightly different and so what the market is trying to do with both imports and exports is match up preferences and product mixes in the two countries.”

Trade is also integrated with the United States and Canada sharing a very long border from east to west. With the high cost of shipping, Peel said it is much more efficient for both countries to ship products north and south.

Mexico is also another important trading partner for the United States. Peel said Mexico has is a major source of feeder cattle imports into the U.S., for the past 20 years Mexico has been a major beef export market and in the last five years Mexico has emerged as a major source of beef imports into the U.S.