Global beef consumption in 2026 is projected at 59.5 million metric tons (mmt), down 1.4% year over year, largely due to decreased beef consumption in China. Global beef consumption has increased an average of 0.8% annually in the last 46 years, from the 1980 level of 42.4 mmt.
The U.S. is the largest beef consuming nation, accounting for 22.4% of total global beef consumption in 2026. The U.S. has averaged 23.3% of global beef consumption since 1980.
China/Hong Kong is the second largest beef consuming country, with total consumption more than doubling in the past 25 years. Brazil is the No. 3 beef consuming country, followed by the European Union (EU) at No. 4. Typically, large beef-producing countries are also large beef-consuming countries.
China/Hong Kong is the largest beef-importing country, having moved ahead of the U.S. in 2017 (Figure 2). Beef imports in China/Hong Kong have increased sharply since 2013, and especially after 2018, with beef imports supplementing domestic beef production to rapidly increase beef consumption in China/Hong Kong (Figure 3). The next three beef-importing countries: Japan, South Korea and the E.U. combined are less than the U.S. (Figure 2).
Figure 4 shows the rapid increase China/Hong Kong beef imports as a share of global total imports, pushing China/Hong Kong ahead of the U.S. since 2017. The U.S. share of global beef imports has remained relatively steady for many years.
China/Hong Kong is certainly the major driver of global beef trade. Recent tariff rate quotas announced by China will have ripple effects on all global beef markets. — Derrell S. Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension livestock marketing specialist
