The Atten Babler Commodities Meat Foreign Exchange (FX) Indices weakened throughout May ’21. The USD/Meat Exporter FX Index declined to a five month low level while the USD/Meat Importer FX Index and USD/Domestic Meat Importer FX Index each declined to three month low levels throughout the month.

Global Meat Net Trade:

Major net meat exporters are led by the U.S., followed by Brazil, the EU-28, India, Canada and Australia (represented in green in the chart below). Major net meat importers are led by Japan, followed by Russia, Mexico, the U.S., China, the EU-28, Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia (represented in red in the chart below).

The United States accounts for over a quarter of the USD/Meat Exporter FX Index, followed by Brazil at 22% and the EU-28 at 14%. India, Canada and Australia each account for between 5-10% of the index.

Japan accounts for 14% of the USD/Meat Importer FX Index, followed by Russia at 12%. Mexico, the United States, China, the EU-28, Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia each account for between 5-10% of the index.

USD/Meat Exporter FX Index:

The USD/Meat Exporter FX Index declined 2.8 points throughout May ’21, finishing at a five month low value of 153.7. The USD/Meat Exporter FX Index has declined 2.7 points throughout the past six months but remains up 44.9 points since the beginning of 2014. A strong USD/Meat Exporter FX Index reduces the competitiveness of U.S. meat relative to other exporting regions (represented in green in the Global Meat Net Trade chart), ultimately resulting in less foreign demand, all other factors being equal. USD appreciation against the Brazilian real has accounted for the majority of the gains since the beginning of 2014.

Appreciation against the USD within the USD/Meat Exporter FX Index during May ’21 was led by gains by the Brazilian real, followed by gains by the euro, Canadian dollar, Indian rupee and Australian dollar.

USD/Meat Importer FX Index:

The USD/Meat Importer FX Index declined 1.1 points throughout May ’21, finishing at a three month low value of 154.2. The USD/Meat Importer FX Index has declined 0.7 points throughout the past six months but remains up 38.3 points since the beginning of 2014. A strong USD/Meat Importer FX Index results in less purchasing power for major meat importing countries (represented in red in the Global Meat Net Trade chart), making U.S. meat more expensive to import. USD appreciation against the Russian ruble and Mexican peso has accounted for the majority of the gains since the beginning of 2014.

Appreciation against the USD within the USD/Meat Importer FX Index during May ’21 was led by gains by the Russian ruble, followed by gains by the Chinese yuan renminbi, Canadian dollar, euro and South African rand.

U.S. Meat Export Destinations:

Major destinations for U.S. meat exports are led by Mexico, followed by Japan, China, Canada, and Hong Kong.

Mexico accounts for over a quarter of the USD/Domestic Meat Importer FX Index, followed by Japan at 11%. China, Canada and Hong Kong each account for between 5-10% of the index.

USD/Domestic Meat Importer FX Index:

The USD/Domestic Meat Importer FX Index declined 0.8 points throughout May ’21, finishing at a three month low value of 162.7. The USD/Domestic Meat Importer FX Index has declined 0.9 points throughout the past six months but remains up 45.3 points since the beginning of 2014. A strong USD/Domestic Meat Importer FX Index results in less purchasing power for the traditional buyers of U.S. meat (represented in red in the U.S. Meat Export Destinations chart), ultimately resulting in less foreign demand, all other factors being equal. USD appreciation against the Mexican peso has accounted for the majority of the gains since the beginning of 2014.

Appreciation against the USD within the USD/Domestic Meat Importer FX Index during May ’21 was led by gains by the Mexican peso, followed by gains by the Canadian dollar, Chinese yuan renminbi and Russian ruble. USD gains were exhibited against the Haitian gourde.