August beef exports from the USA were up 21.3 percent year over year. Year-to-date total beef exports were also up 21.0 percent from 2020. Beef exports August were an all-time record for any month.
Beef exports are mainly driven by the strong growth in the China/HK market, up 160.5 percent year over year in August. Monthly exports for August were also higher year over year to Japan, up 10.4 percent. August beef exports fell to South Korea, Canada, and Taiwan.
Changes in beef exports since 2018 show how the U.S. beef export markets are developing. Japan remains the largest export market for U.S. beef, but is declining in total and as a share of total beef exports.