Despite serious headwinds, U.S. beef, pork and lamb exports strong in 2025 

Exports of U.S. beef, pork and lamb no doubt faced serious headwinds in 2025. A strong U.S. dollar weakened buying power in many parts of the world – particularly Asia. Tight supplies affected beef. Tariff uncertainty influenced trade. China essentially shut out all U.S. beef and significantly reduced imports of U.S. pork under tariffs that, at times, reached into the triple digits. 

But one thing has remained constant: demand for the quality of U.S. red meat around the world remains strong. 

U.S. pork exports set a record in 2024, and even with tariffs impacting shipments to China, global pork exports in 2025 are anticipated to only be slightly off that record once the final numbers are tallied. 

Through the first 10 months of last year, pork exports were only 2 percent off that record pace, led by Mexico with a 7 percent increase in pork shipments worth more than $2 billion for the fourth straight year. Export volume to Central America was steady with the record pace of 2024 but value surged – posting a remarkable 30 percent gain. 

While beef exports through October are down 11 percent from the previous year on volume, that number falls to 3 percent when China is factored out of the numbers. China has effectively blocked beef trade from the U.S. as the Chinese government has failed to renew registrations for U.S. processing and cold storage facilities. But U.S. beef exports to Central America have set a new record in 2025, valued at over $172 million through the first 10 months. 

“This confirms what I consistently hear from customers across the world and from our international staff – that global demand for U.S. red meat remains robust, despite tight supplies and formidable market access barriers,” said U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) President and CEO Dan Halstrom. “Obviously, regaining access for U.S. beef in China is our most urgent priority in 2026. But we are also hopeful that ongoing trade negotiations will remove barriers in other destinations where consumers have a growing appetite for high-quality red meat.” 

As USMEF moves into 2026, new tools will be in place to help build new generations of demand around the world, most notably the America First Trade Promotion Program (AFTPP) through USDA. These funds, along with the support of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and National Pork Board and organizations like the Indiana Soybean Alliance, will allow USMEF to diversify and build markets in places like Southeast Asia and Africa. 

“Central America has been booming recently in the last four or five years, and we see further development potential on both beef and pork in that whole region,” Halstrom said. “And you have some newer regions around the world. In Southeast Asia in particular, Indonesia would be a very good example where there’s a lot of work to be done investing some of these funds to further grow our beef business long term. Malaysia, where U.S. pork has made strides in recent years, is another very good example. And then there’s West Africa and Central Africa, where we’re starting to make some inroads on the variety meat side. But the real opportunity long term is on muscle cuts for beef and pork.” 

As the global population continues to grow and expansion of the global middle class accelerates, U.S. producers are positioned in the U.S. beef, pork and lamb industry to take advantage of the opportunity that is developing in these markets.