SAN ANTONIO – Dan Halstrom, president and CEO of the United States Meat Export Federation, discussed today’s U.S. beef export market.
During the National Cattleman’s Beef Association’s CattleCon 2025, held earlier this month in San Antonio, Texas, Halstrom noted that while the Trump administration’s talk of tariffs is noteworthy, the cattle industry should focus on issues it can control – the record-high beef demand being one.
“Demand, globally, for U.S. beef and pork is record-breaking,” he said. “Especially when you look at the beef side with the s horter supplies and extremely high prices. Given all of the headwinds, we’ve got a strong U.S. dollar, uncertainty of what might or might not happen with tariffs, but despite all of that, demand is good, so we are fairly optimistic.”
Halstrom contributed the strong demand for U.S. beef around the world to its reputation as the safest global supply source not only in meat quality but also animal health. Also, the extremely marbled, grainfed beef is a unique product in many foreign markets. He added that the global expansion of middle- class populations is also bolstering the demand and the ability of consumers to pay for the quality of U.S. beef.
“It’s about selling a whole carcass,” Halstrom said. “So, beef and pork variety meats are center-ofthe plate items in a lo t of these countries. A chilled beef tongue in Japan brings over $10 a pound wholesale at the packer level. If it was sold here in the U.S., without a doubt, it would be under a do llar. Tripe is another good example – $3 a pound versus, maybe, 50 cents. So it is about putting the right cut in the right place to maximize the value.”
New muscle cuts such as trimmed clod hearts, chuck tenders and rounds are finding more value in foreign markets as well.
“These buyers are very sophisticated in understanding that there is a supply constraint at the moment, so they are looking for other alternatives,’ Halstrom explained. “This will pay off two or three years down the road. When you start to see the volumes expand, we are going to have other tools in the toolbox that they can benefit from.”
He said that the tenderness a nd unique flavor of U.S. beef is a recipe for success on a global scale.
Potential challenges that Halstrom fears most include any type of animal health scare on U.S. soil such as foot-and-mouth disease or African swine fever.
“These sorts of things would not only be devastating domestically, but they would also devastate market access internationally,” he said. “But the beef and pork industries are very focused on that.”
Market uncertainties also keep Halstrom up at night, but the Trump administration’s devotion to agriculture gives him confidence, he said.