Special Report

A big year for beef exports

The chairman-elect of the US Meat Export Federation says 2018 has been a fantastic year for exports.

Cevin Jones, an Idaho cattle feeder says there’s a positive story on the beef side.  “We’re going to top $8 billion in exports,” he says.  “That’s going to be a record setting year with double-digit growth and equates back to about $320 per animal for the producers.   Japan will make up about $2 billion worth of exports for us.”

But, he tells Brownfield, it’s a slightly different story for the pork sector.  “We’re still going to eek out on the positive side year-over-year, retiring about $52 per head,” he says.

Jones says pork exports were above record pace for the first half of the year, but the tariffs Mexico and China have implemented on US pork products have taken a toll on exports. 

AUDIO: Cevin Jones, US Meat Export Federation