Japanese, South Koreans Consuming More Beef

Beef exports to Japan and South Korea continue to climb. Combined shipments into the countries have increased by more than 20 percent since last year and by 64 percent in three years.

Through the first seven months of 2018, U.S. beef shipments to Japan and South Korea have totaled 878 million pounds, accounting for nearly half of total U.S. beef exports. More than 70 percent of the total growth in U.S. beef exports since 2015 has come from these two markets.

A recent report from the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service regarding Japan’s beef market notes that “the ‘meat boom’ which swept over Japan in 2017 has continued to drive beef consumption in 2018 in both retail and food service.” The report also notes that “strong red meat-consumption trends in Japan will continue into 2019.”

A similar report for South Korea this spring noted “the increasingly favorable consumer perception of U.S. beef also contributed to growing demand.”

Source: Missouri Ruralist