U.S. beef exports into the European Union’s (EU) High Quality Beef (HQB) quota program were lower in 2021 due to hospitality sector closures from COVID-19.
Exports in 2021 started at a low level due to the continued pressure from COVID-19 in 2020. However, throughout 2021, the EU imports into HQB steadily climbed from 2,306 metric tons (mt) in the first quarter to 3,547 mt in the fourth quarter. The U.S. HQB import total into the EU for 2021 was 11,511 mt, or about 50 percent of the quota availability.
USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service noted in the report that while the hospitality sector was open in the second half of 2020, the succession of waves of COVID-19 kept much of the industry in lockdown until late in the summer of 2021. The change in the business model to takeout and delivery kept the demand for U.S. beef from falling even further.
