Market Watch

August exports of U.S. beef and pork muscle cuts were above last year's strong volumes, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). Variety meat exports were lower than a year ago, due in part to the lack of available labor required to harvest and export some items. Led by record-large demand in South Korea and Taiwan, beef muscle cut exports were the largest in more than a year at 89,148 metric tons (mt), up 3.5% year-over-year, while export value increased slightly from a year ago to $611 million. August muscle cut exports also set new records in China and Indonesia and beef exports to Canada continued to gain momentum. Combined beef/beef variety meat exports were 109,752 mt in August, down 4.5% from a year ago. Export value was $673.8 million, down 2% from a year ago but the highest since March. For January through August, beef muscle cut exports were 6% below last year's pace in volume (627,248 mt) and 9% lower in value ($4.

As cotton and cotton-related products are discretionary items, COVID-19 has significantly impacted demand for cotton. The greatest decline in consumption has been observed in China and India. Retail sales in clothing and clothing accessories in the U.S. experienced an  87% decline in April  from the previous year. With the anticipation of a decline in consumers’ consumption of apparel, the recovery of the spinning industry is anticipated to be slow. Slightly lower production, reduced consumption and higher beginning and ending stocks are projected for the 2020 cotton crop globally. World cotton production in 2020 is forecast at 118.7 million bales, 3% (4.2 million bales) below the previous year. Global cotton mill use is forecast at 114.4 million bales in 2020, 11.5% (12 million bales) above 2019, but still significantly lower than 2017 and 2018 levels. The world ending stocks are also projected at 104.7 million bales, the second-highest level on record. U.S. cotton production i