World Beef
Increased meat packing capacity in Canada reduces the number of slaughter cattle exported to the United States, leading to a 15 percent rise in the Canadian supply of beef for export.
Russian and Korean beef imports declined 17.4 and 37.2 percent, respectively, in 1998. Russian imports continue to decline through 2000.
Korean beef imports are expected to fall short of their minimum access commitments.
The United States’ share of beef exports by modeled countries swells from 20.3 percent in 1998 to 35.0 percent in 2007. With the exception of Argentina and Canada, the shares of other major beef exporters decline.
High feed costs and reduced profitability caused dramatic declines in Argentina’s cattle inventory in 1997 and 1998, reducing Argentine beef production by more than 300 tmt since 1997. FMD-Free status is expected to increase Argentina’s export demand, contributing to the incentives for producers to expand production and exports each year by 1.4 and 3.7 percent, respectively.
Australia’s live cattle exports to Asian countries dropped nearly 50 percent in 1998 due to the Asian financial crisis. Australian cattle exports slowly recover to pre-crisis levels by the end of the projection period.