by Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University

Beef trade in countries around the world is driven by a variety of factors, including cattle inventories, beef production, population, general and product-specific beef preferences, and transportation/logistics. Table 1 provides broad indicators of some of these economic forces.

The total size (population) of a country is a factor affecting beef trade in the country. Population and per capita consumption drive total beef consumption. For example, China has relatively low per capita consumption (Column F), but it is a large beef consumer and importer by virtue of a large total population (columns B and E).

In contrast, the United States is the second-largest beef consumer with a population one-quarter that of China’s, but its per capita consumption is roughly 4.5 times higher.

Not surprisingly, countries with large beef industries (cattle inventory) — China, Brazil and the United States, for example — tend to be large beef consumers. India is an exception simply because much of the population does not consume beef, and many of the cattle are not part of the commercial herd. India is, however, the third-largest beef exporter, much of which is carabeef, meat from water buffalo.

One general indication of beef trade is the population relative to the cattle inventory of various countries. Countries that have large populations relative to the size of their cattle industry are frequently beef importers. Of course, it depends on their general preferences and tendency to consume beef.

Table 1 shows that the highest people-to-cattle ratios are in Japan, China and South Korea (Column D). These countries rank 1, 3 and 4 for total beef imports. Total beef imports in Japan and South Korea are 143% and 166% of domestic production, with China imports equal to 52% of total beef production (Column I). The United Kingdom is the No. 5 beef importer and has a relatively high people-to-cattle ratio, with imports representing 56% of production.

On the other hand, countries with low ratios of people to cattle are more likely to be beef exporters. Three countries with the lowest people-to-cattle ratios are New Zealand (0.55), Argentina (0.86), Australia (1.0) and Brazil (1.14) (see Column D). These countries rank 6, 5, 2 and 1 as beef exporters, respectively (Column H). New Zealand exports 90% of production, but it is not a bigger exporter simply because it is a small country and a small beef producer in total. Australia exports 73% of production, while Argentina has high per capita beef consumption, but it also exports 37% of production.

The United States, the European Union and Canada rank as both top-10 beef importers and exporters. In the United States, bilateral trade in beef reflects the diversity of beef products, with exports and imports of specific products helping to balance consumer preferences to domestic production. This adds value to U.S. producers and consumers by seeking the highest value across a wide range of beef products.

The United States exports a mix of high-value cuts, end meats and offals, and imports mostly processing beef to support the enormous ground-beef market in the United States, along with some specialty cuts. Beef trade between the United States and Canada also reflects the transportation efficiency of moving similar products north and south rather than east and west across the wide countries. Population centers in eastern Canada are closer to U.S. Midwest beef production, while beef production in western Canada is closer to U.S. West Coast markets. Column K in Table 1 shows the shares of the major U.S. beef imports sources, and Column L shows the shares of the major export markets for U.S. beef.

Global beef trade reflects the comparative advantage of beef-producing countries, the demand of beef deficit countries, the balancing of preferences for specific beef products and the logistics between trading partners. It is a complex set of economic forces but the gains from trade benefit beef producers and consumers worldwide when beef markets are allowed to function without impediments and seek out the highest value for beef products.

Editor’s note: Derrell Peel is a livestock marketing specialist for Oklahoma State University Extension. This article is reprinted with permission from the May 19, 2025, OSU  Cow-Calf Corner newsletter. [Lead composited with Getty Images elements.]

Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA, Vol. 17, No. 5-B