U.S. Beef Maintains No. 1 Market Share in Imported Meat for 8 Consecutive Years

U.S. Beef Maintains Top Spot in Imported Meat Market for 8 Consecutive Years
Chilled Meat and Prime Grade Production Both Increase
Over 70% of Consumers Say "U.S. Beef is Safe"
U.S. Pork Also Leads in Market Share, Doubling the Second Place Competitor

U.S. beef recorded the highest market share and import volume in the domestic imported meat market for the eighth consecutive year last year.

According to data released on the 17th by the U.S. Meat Export Federation based on domestic customs clearance data and consumer surveys, out of the total beef import volume of 461,027 tons (customs clearance basis) last year, U.S. beef accounted for 221,629 tons, capturing a 48.1% share of the domestic beef import market. U.S. beef has maintained the number one position in the domestic imported meat market since 2017.

In particular, the proportion of chilled meat among the total U.S. beef imports last year rose by 1.3% from the previous year to 29.6%. Production of the highest grade of U.S. beef, the Prime grade, increased by 17%. According to the '2024 Second Half Beef Consumer Perception Survey' conducted by the U.S. Meat Export Federation and Gallup Korea, 70.2% of consumers responded that "U.S. beef is safe." This figure remained above 70%, following last year's survey (70.4%). Additionally, 69% of respondents said they intend to consume U.S. beef in the future. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), as of November last year based on meat shipments, South Korea ranked first as an export destination for U.S. beef for the fourth consecutive year.

U.S. pork is also on the rise. According to Korea Customs Service data, out of the total pork import volume of 563,210 tons (customs clearance basis) last year, U.S. pork accounted for 195,610 tons. It holds a 34.7% share in the domestic pork import market, ranking first. This is a 9% increase from the 25.7% share in 2022. The gap in market share with the second place is more than double.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.