For the first half of the year, exports were down 4% from last year’s record pace at 1.46 million mt. Export value was $4.11 billion, down 3.5% from a year ago but still the third highest first-half total on record. Beef exports totalled 93,928 mt in June, down 15% from a year ago and the lowest since June 2020. For January through June, beef exports were 6.5% below last year’s pace at 602,221 mt, while value fell 6% to $4.92 billion. Without exports to China, USMEF estimates the US beef industry’s lost opportunity at $150 to $165 per head of fed slaughter, or about $4 billion annually.