“One of the main points that came out of this report is the recognition that while producers produce cattle as a single product, what they sell becomes thousands of different products,” he said. “The marketplace plays a big role in sorting out where the best value is for all those products that ultimately contribute to the overall value of cattle.”
When opportunities are available, the U.S. exports specific products to certain markets, and the vast range of different beef commodities helps the industry grow.
“The U.S. is a relatively mature market in terms of where we are with beef demand, but there’s a lot more potential in the global market, broadly speaking,” Peel said. “Potential growth in the industry is going to rest more and more with the trade sector, and we highlight the fact that the marketplace has grown a lot in the last 20 to 30 years.”
Peel and Tonsor’s research shows that a 10% reduction in beef imports and exports over a 10-year period would result in a $20 billion impact to cattle producers.
“Bottom line, there would be huge economic losses if we did not trade, and the beef industry would be much smaller,” Peel said.
Source : okstate.edu