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Cattlemen's Capitol Concerns
February 21, 2008
The Cattlemen’s Capitol Concerns (CCC) is a weekly report from Washington, D.C., giving an up-to-date summary of top policy initiatives concerning the cattle industry; direct from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). Please feel free to reprint in full or in part. If you’d like to include NCBA’s logo, contact us at 202-347-0228.
Export Markets Update: According to newly released statistics, exports for U.S. beef are very strong in all our foreign markets except for South Korea, Japan and China. The United States is now exporting record numbers to 22 countries including Mexico and Canada, which are currently our number one and number two markets, respectively.
NCBA Chief Economist Gregg Doud analyzed the latest year-end trade data from USDA, crunched the numbers, and came up with the following notable statistics for 2007:
- Mexico is the top market for U.S. beef exports. We exported $1.185 billion worth of U.S. beef and beef products to Mexico, a new record.
- Canada is our second largest market. We exported $602 million worth of U.S. beef and beef products to Canada. This also breaks the previous record by a huge margin.
- The United States exported beef/beef products to 104 countries, setting new records for 22 of them. In addition to Mexico and Canada they are the following: Armenia, Belize, Chile, Congo, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Gabon, Guatemala, Guinea, Honduras, Jamaica, Mauritius, Philippines, Suriname, Taiwan, Ukraine, UAE, Vietnam and Yemen.
- The United States exported a record $69 million in beef and beef products to the Caribbean. The previous record for exports to this area was $59 million in 2006.
- Total U.S. beef, beef variety meat and processed product exports were $2.618 billion. This figure is up from $2.031 billion in 2006, but still down from the $3.86 billion record of 2003.
New Records Set in Four CAFTA-DR Countries: The United States exported $28 million in beef and beef variety meats in 2007 to the CAFTA-DR nations (Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua). This is up from $18 million in 2006.
“Three years ago I forecasted that overall U.S. beef and beef variety meat exports to the CAFTA-DR nations could triple by 2015 to $41 million,” says NCBA Chief Economist Gregg Doud. “In just the first full year of the CAFTA-DR free trade agreement, we've already more than doubled our beef exports. Where this really shows up is in the Dominican Republic where – before the CAFTA-DR - that country's 40 percent tariff limited trade to only between $3-7 million in exports in any given year.”
In 2007, U.S. beef exports to the Dominican Republic were $16 million. New records for U.S. beef exports were set in four of the six CAFTA-DR countries - Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and Honduras.
Beef Exports to the EU Rise Sharply: Exports to the 27 European Union (EU) countries in 2007 were $49 million. This is up from $29 million in 2006 and the largest figure since 1999. “Even more remarkable is that $40.5 million of this was beef only,” says NCBA Chief Economist Gregg Doud. “Traditionally we have exported primarily beef variety meats to the EU.”
Asian Markets Remain A Frustration for U.S. Cattlemen: NCBA Chief Economist Gregg Doud reports that the only significant markets still completely closed to U.S. beef are South Korea and China, with the ‘20 month and under’ limitation still drastically affecting our trade into Japan.
- Exports to Japan in 2007 were $244 million versus $1.391 billion in 2003, suggesting that we're still at least $1 billion shy of what we're capable of in that market.
- Exports to South Korea were $119 million in 2007 during the brief periods (totaling approximately 109 days) that Korea was open to U.S. boneless beef from cattle less than 30 months of age. South Korea imported $815 million in U.S. beef and beef products in 2003, but the decline in the value of the U.S. dollar alone since that time suggests South Korea is potentially at least a $1 billion market for U.S. beef should completely normalized market access be regained.
NCBA President to Join U.S. Delegation in Korea: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will lead a U.S. delegation to the inauguration of President-elect Lee Myung-bak in South Korea scheduled for February 25th. The White House announced last week that Rice will head a delegation that will include new NCBA President Andy Groseta, along with Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Wendy Cutler, William Rhodes, chairman of the U.S.-Korea Business Council, Korean-American football star Hines Ward (2006 Superbowl MVP for the Pittsburgh Steelers), U.S. Forces Korea Commander Burwell Bell and U.S. ambassador to Seoul Alexander Vershbow.
The delegation is expected to make a strong case with Korean officials in support of resolving the U.S.-Korean beef trade issue and passing the U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement.
Russian Trade Update: Russia authorized late last week five more U.S. processors to ship U.S. beef to Russia. Effective February 14th, the plants authorized for export to Russia include: JBS-Swift & Co. plants in Cactus, Texas and Hyrum, Utah; Tyson Fresh Meats plant in Dakota City, Neb.; and the National Beef Packing Co. plants in Dodge City, Kan. and Brawley, Calif. This brings the total to eight U.S. beef processing plants authorized to export U.S. beef to Russia, reflecting the country's increasing demand for foreign beef.
NCBA continues to monitor trade related developments with Russia as it will likely remain the second largest beef importing nation in the world in 2008 at 1.1 million metric tons according to USDA's latest estimates. Russia's imports of red meat rose 8.2 percent in 2007.
USDA Forecasts $101 Billion in Ag Exports for 2008: At USDA’s Annual Agricultural Outlook Forum on February 21st, Secretary Ed Schafer said U.S. agricultural exports could reach a record $101 billion for fiscal year 2008, up $10 billion from November's forecast and an unprecedented $19 billion above 2007. Higher wheat, coarse grain, and soybean prices account for just over half of the revision since November.
Schafer also predicted increases in high-value product exports such as beef. Economic growth in foreign countries has prompted gains in consumer incomes and in overseas consumer demand for high quality beef products. The wea |