Beef Guide

Beginning beef stocks in 2021 are projected at 645M pounds, an increase of 3M pounds from 2020. The total beef supply in 2021 is projected at 31.214B pounds, down 170M pounds from 2020. Beef consumption in 2021 is projected at 27.484B pounds, down 350M pounds from 2020. Ending beef stocks in 2021 are projected at 650M pounds.

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The world cattle inventory in 2020 was reported at 987.5 million head. India has the largest cattle inventory in the world in 2020 followed by Brazil & the United States. Roughly 65% of the world's cattle are in India, Brazil & the United States. The cattle inventory in India includes water buffalo. More than 90% of the world's cattle are not in the United States. The United States has the 3rd largest cattle inventory in the world in 2020.

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The Phase One economic and trade agreement signed by the United States and China on January 15, 2020, provides U.S. exporters of beef and other meat, as well as live breeding cattle with expanded access to China's market. When China partially reopened its market to U.S. beef and beef products in 2017, following a 13-year ban, many unscientific restrictions remained, including age, product scope, use of veterinary drugs, and traceability. Also, it was difficult to register new facilities with Chinese authorities to export. The Phase One agreement addresses these issues and should give U.S. companies streamlined access to China's market while providing Chinese consumers with a wider variety of American beef to choose from. China has agreed to implement the following actions for beef:

• Remove age restrictions for U.S. beef and beef products from completing a risk assessment;
• Expand the allowable product scope for U.S. beef and processed beef products;
• Recognize the U.S. beef and beef products' traceability system that the United States already has in place; and
• Adopt internationally accepted maximum residue levels for three widely-used veterinary drugs (zeranol, trenbolone acetate, and melengestrol acetate).

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Global beef consumption is forecasted to grow at an average rate of 1.1% rate a year out to 2023. Relative to 2019, global beef consumption is expected to grow by 3.3 MT by 2023. Asian countries are projected to have a continuously increasing beef consumption, followed by Latin America, North America, Africa, and Oceania. Population and income growth support the growing trend of consumption.