Total beef exports increased 3.6% year over year in September, bringing the total for the first nine months of the year to just 2.9% below last year (Figure 1). Japan is the No. 1 export market, up 8.4% in September and up 0.6% year over year thus far in 2024. No. 2 South Korea was up 5.9% in September but remains down 10.3% for the first nine months of the year. China/Hong Kong is the No. 3 export destination, down 12.3% in September and down 10.2% year over year for the January-September period.
Beef exports to fourth-ranked Mexico were up 11.2% in September and are up 10.9% year over year for the first nine months of the year. Canada is the No. 5 export market and was down 16.6% year over year in September and down 5.5% for the year to date. Beef exports to No. 6 Taiwan were up 35.9% year over year in September, bringing the year-to-date total just 0.7% below one year ago.
Total beef imports remain significantly stronger in 2024, up 23% year over year in September and up 21.1% thus far in 2024 (Figure 2). Canada remains the No. 1 beef import source, just fractionally higher than Australia. Beef imports from Canada were down 0.7% year over year in September but remain up by 2.7% over last year. Imports from Australia have jumped sharply in 2024, up 60% in September and up 68.4% for the year to date compared to one year ago.
Brazil has also grown sharply as a source of U.S. beef imports, up 87.4% in September and up 44.9% for the January-September period. Brazil is the No. 3 beef import source in 2024, up from No. 5 last year. The No. 4 beef import market is New Zealand, with September imports down 20% from one year ago but up 6.2% year over year for the first nine months of the year.
Mexico is the No. 5 beef import source, down from third place last year, with September imports up 6.2% year over year, but down 13.4% for the year to date. Uruguay is the sixth largest beef import source and was up 11.2% in September and is up 64.8% year over year thus far in 2024. — Derrell S. Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension livestock marketing specialist
