Cattle Industry 2026

Top insights for Cattle Markets:

Global beef and veal production was 66.25 million tonnes CWE (Carcass-Weight Equivalent) in 2017. The global cattle herd was 1.49 billion head in 2017.

In 2017, 350 million heads of cattle around the world produced 73 million tonnes of beef.

Global beef exports are forecast to increase by only 0.2 per cent in 2019, despite production growth. The OECD-FAO is predicting a slowdown in global beef trade growth in the coming decade, due to weaker beef demand growth generally and slower import growth in China.

Overview per country:

• Brazil: Brazil is a major competitor in the beef industry, with the second largest cattle herd in the world of 211 million head in 2016, and is projected to rise due to a decline in female slaughter numbers.
• Argentina: Argentine beef has become extremely competitive on the global market - beef exports totalled 325,000 tonnes swt in 2018 (year-to-November), an increase of 72% year-on-year, almost all of which was destined for China.
• Uruguay: Uruguay's beef exports for 2019 are forecast at a four year low of 415,000 tons carcass weight equivalent due to reduced slaughter inventory and loss of competitiveness in global markets due to currency fluctuations.
• US: In 2019, beef production totaled 27.15 billion pounds based on total cattle slaughter of 33.6 million head, including steers and heifers (79.0 percent of total), dairy cows (9.7 percent), beef cows (9.6 percent) and bulls (1.6 percent). Beef production in 2020 is forecast at a record 27.5 billion pounds.
• Canada: International cattle exports increased 6.9% to 309,400 head during the second half of 2019, compared with the same period in 2018.
• Australia: Australia produces only 3% of global beef production, but accounts for around 17% of world trade and has remained one of the top-three largest exporters for over seven decades. Australian beef exports have increased in 2018 due to a combination of increased volume available for export as a result of higher cattle slaughter, and growing global demand for beef. But underpinned by a significantly reduced cattle herd, and facilitated by the wetter start to 2020 and bullish three-month rainfall outlook, Australian adult cattle slaughter for 2020 is forecast to decline 19% on the previous year, to 6.9 million head.
• France: For livestock, France exported a total of 1.4 million cattle (excluding breeding stock, including calves) in 2018, mostly destined for fattening.
• Ireland: In 2018, Ireland exported 246,629 live cattle, which is 69% higher than 2016, but is still 27% lower than the highs of 2010.

Top view datapoints for Cattle Markets:

• Number of Cattle in the World - 1961 to 2019
• Forecast [COVID-19 updated]: Number of Cattle in the World - 2019 to 2023
• Beef Meat Gross Production in the World - 1991 to 2019
• Forecast [COVID-19 updated]: Beef Meat Gross Production in the World - 2019 to 2023
• Cow Slaughterings in the EU27 (2020) - 2006 to 2019
• Forecast: Cow Slaughterings in the EU27 (2020) - 2019 to 2023