Browse Data and Analysis

The 2021 U.S. Agricultural Export Yearbook provides a statistical summary of U.S. agricultural commodity exports to the world.

Post estimates cattle numbers in 2022 are expected to stagnate with 18 million head, including buffaloes, due to slow population growth rate, low raw milk prices, and an increasing number of cows being sent to slaughter because of high feed prices, despite government incentives.

As the 14th largest export destination, the United Kingdom (UK) has been an important and growing market for U.S. agricultural products. Shared heritage and cultural ties have continued to bolster U.S.-UK trade. The United States is the second largest UK agricultural supplier, behind the European Union (EU). The market presents many opportunities for intermediate and consumer-oriented products.

Hong Kong continues to take random tests on imports of chilled and frozen foods and their packaging for the COVID-19 virus.

Both EU beef and pork production are forecast to decline in 2022. The lower domestic beef production is caused by a shrinking dairy herd with higher milk deliveries but a lower output of animals for slaughter.

U.S. beef exports into the EU’s High Quality Beef (HQB) quota had a hard time in 2021 as they suffered from the repeated closures of the EU hospitality sector from COVID-19. EU imports of U.S. beef decreased substantially after the end-of-year 2020 holiday season and only gradually increased throughout 2021 again

Portuguese cattle and swine sectors are currently restructuring to increase their domestic beef and pork production to meet domestic and export market demands. The meat sector is also working to open new strategic export markets, especially in the pork market.

The United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union on December 31, 2020, and the Covid pandemic have both presented challenges and opportunities for the livestock sector.

In 2020, Spanish livestock exports continued to reach record levels mainly driven by significant demand in the Middle East for cattle and in Asian markets for pork.

In 2020 and 2021, Bulgaria made significant progress in the recovery of the national swine herd after African swine fever (ASF) hit the country in 2019.

EU domestic beef production is under pressure from a shrinking dairy herd (with increased milk deliveries but a lower output of animals for slaughter).

The cattle number forecast for 2022 is expected to be 18.8 million head. This three percent increase in the cattle estimate is a result of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MinAF) subsidies for calf production and projected feeder cattle imports for 2022.