U.S. meat exports flatten while Brazil's market soars

Key Takeaway: While U.S. meat exports are “relatively unchanged,” Brazil’s market continues to set records, according to the latest World Markets and Trade analysis from the USDA.

Brazil’s market, the USDA explained, currently enjoys advantages across all species: Cattle prices have “declined significantly” below that of Uruguay and Argentina, supporting exports to Southeast Asia, South America, and Middle East markets; Brazil is free of HPAI outbreaks in commercial poultry operations, and therefore faces no restrictions in chicken exports; and declining feed prices have meant competitive prices for pork. Brazil's beef exports have risen from 2,898 thousand metric tons (MT) in July 2022 to 3,050 in July 2023, while U.S. exports are down from 1,608 to 1,458; furthermore, while U.S. cattle stocks are down 3% from last year, Brazil's are up. Similarly, while U.S. poultry exports are up from 3,316 thousand MT in July 2022 to 3,358 this year, Brazil posted a stronger increase from 4,447 to 4,825. One space where the U.S. remains in the lead is pork exports, which rose YOY by nearly 9% to 3,136 thousand MT; Brazil's were up more than 13%, but its production of 1,500 thousand MT is less than half of the U.S.