At the recent Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting in San Diego, Senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays spoke with the President and CEO of US Meat Export Federation Dan Halstrom. Our Coverage from San Diego is powered by Farm Data Services of Stillwater.

Dan Halstrom addressed one of the most pressing challenges facing U.S. beef exports: lack of access to China. “We continue to be challenged on the beef side, not only with a duty that’s relatively high, but more importantly, almost 400 [U.S.] beef establishments are not listed in the China system.” This exclusion from China’s CIFER system, which is required for importing, has created a major bottleneck. As Halstrom explained, “This is just a political deal of blockade we’re down 90% to China in the month of May.” The suspension began in early April, and the market has been struggling to adjust ever since.

Despite the setback, Halstrom emphasized that efforts are underway to work around the issue through diversification and flexibility. “We’re focused on moving this meat to all the most logical places, other than China, with the hopes that when China comes back, we’re that much better prepared.” He noted that the U.S. Meat Export Federation has become adept at adapting quickly: “We have the ability to move funding around between our offices we’re getting, unfortunately, very good at it.” For example, South Korea had a strong May, picking up some of the slack. “Korea had a huge month in May, up 10% I believe it was, or maybe it was 15.”

Halstrom explained why the China market is so valuable: it offers a “very complete mix” of beef demand, taking everything from navels to chuck meat to rounds. “The vast majority of the volume are these thin meats and plates for barbecue.” While other markets like Korea and Japan can absorb some of those cuts, Halstrom said, “Of course, we’d rather have China in the mix so we can maximize that value back to the producer.” Editor’s note- Beef carcass navels, also known as beef belly or navel end brisket, is a cut of beef from the ventral (belly) portion of the plate primal, located near the brisket.  It is a flavorful and fatty cut, known for its rich marbling, and is ideal for slow cooking, smoking, or curing. 

When asked about Hong Kong’s role, Halstrom clarified that it is still a separate and functioning market. “The plants are still approved to go to Hong Kong. That business is its own deal and growing, but not nearly, of course, as big as China itself.” He also highlighted China’s premium market segment: “Sam’s Club is one of the largest users of U.S. beef…their mix was about 70% U.S. grain-fed and about 30% Australian.” With the current U.S. beef shortage, he noted, “sales are going down,” and the opportunity to reclaim market share will be immediate once access is restored.

Looking back, Halstrom credited the Trump administration’s 2020 China Phase One agreement as a turning point for beef exports. “We went from roughly 200 million in sales to China to 2 billion in two years.” That success, he said, gives him hope: “Without a doubt, the Trump administration gets credit for that…so this is what gives me confidence that eventually we’ll get this worked out.” In the meantime, the industry stays nimble, prepared to reenter China “with a few advertising features” and possibly “the first shipments by air.”

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