8-Month U.S. Livestock
Imports/Exports Decline

For the most part, livestock imports and exports to and from the United States are showing considerable declines this year, according to U.S. Department of Commerce figures from the Foreign Agriculture Service.

The combined imports of cattle, horses, hogs and sheep, lambs and goats for the first eight months of 1999 are down five percent at 3,888,394 head. Combined exports of the same classes are down 23 percent at 686,859 head.

The monthly recap of imports and exports from FAS shows the 8-month total of cattle imports off nine percent, horses off 37 percent, hogs off four percent and sheep, lambs and goats up six percent; while exports show total cattle off 18 percent, horses up 38 percent, hogs up 60 percent and sheep, lambs and goats off 40 percent.

FAS keeps some classes combined, so there is some guesswork involved in getting meaning from the figures, as is the case with combining all sheep, lambs and goats in one category. Also, cattle imports are lumped into one category while cattle exports are broken down into five categories, but the report combines feeder cattle and slaughter cattle into one "other cattle" category.

FAS reports cattle imports through August this year are down nine percent at 1,161,274 head. Cattle from Canada, presumably fat cattle, are down 24 percent at 680,262 head. Cattle from Mexico, mostly feeders, are up 28 percent at 481,012 head.

Total cattle exports are down 18 percent at 139,129 head. Exports of beef breeding bulls are down 49 percent at 1393 head, and beef breeding females are down 53 percent at 1567 head. Dairy bull exports are off 17 percent at 910 head, females off 50 percent at 5662 head. Other cattle exports are down 14 percent at 129,597 head. That category includes 54,085 head going to Mexico, down 47 percent. These are probably slaughter cattle. Cattle going to Canada, presumably feeders, are up 60 percent at 75,261 head.

Horse imports through August are down 37 percent at 18,884 head. Total horses exported were up 38 percent at 39,229 head. The "horse" category was up 84 percent at 13,714 head. Other horses, asses and mules exported were up 20 percent at 25,515 head.

Hog imports through August were down four percent at 2,670,136 head. All were from Canada and probably feeder pigs. Hog exports were up 60 percent at 149,528 head. Most of these, 141,242 head, went to Mexico and were probably slaughter hogs.

Sheep, lambs and goats imported through August were up six percent at 38,100 head, these were practically all from Canada. Sheep, lambs and goats exported were down 40 percent at 358,973 head. Most of these, 340,433 head, were slaughter ewes going to Mexico.

The sheep figures do not conform to the USDA figures we frequently use. According to USDA there were 203,419 sheep and 43,176 goats exported to Mexico this year through September 4. The combined number of sheep and goats from USDA is down five percent with sheep exports up seven percent and goats down 38 percent.