The world’s top exporters of frozen beef by total weight are Brazil, India, Australia, Argentina, United States of America, and New Zealand. Combined, those 6 top suppliers of frozen beef sold 4.8 million tons of frozen beef during 2020 or more than three quarters (78.3%) of global shipments by weight.
However, higher volumes of frozen beef exports do not necessarily correspond with lower average unit for frozen beef even when you factor in economies of scale. For instance, 3 of the biggest exporters of frozen beef (Australia, United States and New Zealand) sold frozen beef on international markets in 2020 at average unit prices higher than the global average price of US$4,322 per ton.
Top Frozen Beef Export Countries by Shipment Weight
The top 50 exporters of frozen beef as measured by tonnage are listed below. Based on that weight metric, these key suppliers of frozen beef on international markets accounted for 99.9% of the world’s frozen beef exports in 2020.
| Frozen Beef Exporter | Tons | 2019-20 | 2016-20 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazil | 1,558,502 | +14.9% | +66.1% |
| 2 | India | 934,329 | -14.1% | -25.1% |
| 3 | Australia | 833,354 | -18.1% | +7.1% |
| 4 | Argentina | 528,731 | +10.4% | +479.3% |
| 5 | United States | 513,703 | -4.4% | +11.6% |
| 6 | New Zealand | 448,781 | +2.7% | +15.1% |
| 7 | Uruguay | 276,787 | -7.5% | +8.1% |
| 8 | Paraguay | 157,141 | +4.9% | -5.5% |
| 9 | Ireland | 105,602 | +9.5% | +34.1% |
| 10 | Poland | 103,137 | -1.4% | +48.9% |
| 11 | Canada | 81,955 | +4.8% | +31.8% |
| 12 | Nicaragua | 65,540 | -0.7% | +19.1% |
| 13 | Belarus | 59,777 | +5.7% | +16.2% |
| 14 | Netherlands | 48,090 | -14.3% | +21.7% |
| 15 | Spain | 41,743 | -1.8% | +12.5% |
| 16 | United Kingdom | 41,324 | +34.3% | +48.9% |
| 17 | Germany | 34,397 | -20% | -16.8% |
| 18 | Italy | 34,124 | -7.9% | -18.1% |
| 19 | Costa Rica | 26,043 | +14.8% | +164.4% |
| 20 | Austria | 25,868 | -11.7% | +28.4% |
| 21 | Chile | 24,392 | +24.9% | +233% |
| 22 | Ukraine | 22,420 | -5.1% | +17.1% |
| 23 | Colombia | 20,427 | +47.3% | +209% |
| 24 | South Africa | 19,986 | +61.7% | +10.6% |
| 25 | France | 15,673 | +3.1% | -17.1% |
| 26 | Russia | 14,849 | +180.3% | +717.7% |
| 27 | Bolivia | 13,880 | +474.7% | +3866% |
| 28 | Hong Kong | 11,379 | -86.3% | -82.3% |
| 29 | Denmark | 10,000 | +29.1% | +10.2% |
| 30 | Belgium | 9,417 | -6.5% | -17.1% |
| 31 | Lithuania | 9,163 | +5.2% | +59.8% |
| 32 | Singapore | 8,259 | +2.3% | -39.4% |
| 33 | Pakistan | 6,330 | +11.7% | -27% |
| 34 | Botswana | 5,199 | -56.6% | -69.1% |
| 35 | Panama | 4,901 | +16.2% | +60% |
| 36 | Namibia | 3,722 | -70.7% | -57.8% |
| 37 | Jordan | 3,703 | +29.8% | +2.6% |
| 38 | Honduras | 3,230 | +7.9% | +763.6% |
| 39 | Saudi Arabia | 3,127 | -10% | +23.3% |
| 40 | Japan | 2,503 | +10.1% | +176.9% |
| 41 | Portugal | 1,569 | -33.3% | +19.3% |
| 42 | Kazakhstan | 1,519 | -61.7% | +1981% |
| 43 | Serbia | 1,338 | -27.2% | +264.6% |
| 44 | Latvia | 1,267 | +24.6% | +95.8% |
| 45 | Guatemala | 1,251 | -34.8% | +32% |
| 46 | Kenya | 1,063 | -10.2% | -23.6% |
| 47 | Romania | 1,063 | -17.4% | -35% |
| 48 | Croatia | 935 | -19.5% | +33.6% |
| 49 | Czech Republic | 927 | -33.5% | +4.9% |
| 50 | Turkey | 796 | -46.6% | +2962% |
The fastest-growing major exporters of frozen beef from 2019 to 2020 are Bolivia (up 474.7%), Russia (up 180.3%), South Africa (up 61.7%), Colombia (up 47.3%), United Kingdom (up 34.3%), Jordan (up 29.8%) and Denmark (up 29.1%).
Posting the severest declines in tons of exported frozen beef from year to year were Hong Kong (down -86.3%), Namibia (down -70.7%), Kazakhstan (down -61.7%), Botswana (down -56.6%), Turkey (down -46.6%), Guatemala (down -34.8%), Czech Republic (down -33.5%) and Portugal (down -33.3%).
Searchable List of Average Unit Price for Exported Frozen Beef
The world’s average unit price per ton of exported frozen beef was US$4,322 for 2020, up 10.8% since 2016 but down -1.5% from 2019 to 2020.
The automated table below enables you to compare the average unit price for exported frozen beef for 50 of the world’s biggest exporters of frozen beef by weight. Amounts shown are in US dollars.
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns in the data table. The right-most columns highlight the change in unit price for each supplier’s globally exported frozen beef in 2020 compared to 2019 or 5 years earlier in 2016. (A value of 0% in those column means data for that year was unavailable.)
| Frozen Beef Exporter | Avg Price | 2019-20 | 2016-20 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | $53,887 | -14.5% | -14.8% |
| 2 | Hungary | $16,981 | 0% | 0% |
| 3 | Turkey | $6,744 | -17.9% | -33.6% |
| 4 | United States | $5,824 | -8% | +4.5% |
| 5 | Netherlands | $5,227 | -0.3% | -3.2% |
| 6 | Hong Kong | $5,087 | +52.9% | +57% |
| 7 | Russia | $5,007 | +6.9% | +22.6% |
| 8 | Australia | $4,929 | +1.8% | +16.4% |
| 9 | Canada | $4,876 | -7.8% | +3.9% |
| 10 | Germany | $4,783 | -8% | +8% |
| 11 | Guatemala | $4,743 | +9.7% | +7.1% |
| 12 | New Zealand | $4,691 | -0.9% | +7.2% |
| 13 | Uruguay | $4,662 | -7.3% | +10.9% |
| 14 | Croatia | $4,662 | -8.2% | +8.8% |
| 15 | Austria | $4,579 | +0.3% | +11.9% |
| 16 | Nicaragua | $4,392 | -1% | +3% |
| 17 | Mexico | $4,385 | 0% | +3.1% |
| 18 | Kenya | $4,355 | -12.3% | +5.3% |
| 19 | Lithuania | $4,330 | +1.7% | +34.2% |
| 20 | Bolivia | $4,308 | -15.3% | +17.3% |
| 21 | Brazil | $4,286 | +3.6% | +12.1% |
| 22 | Spain | $4,280 | +8.4% | +23.1% |
| 23 | Denmark | $4,210 | -6.7% | -5.4% |
| 24 | Latvia | $4,193 | -2.8% | +5.1% |
| 25 | Portugal | $4,189 | -12.1% | -25.1% |
| 26 | Italy | $4,185 | -1.3% | +7.3% |
| 27 | Honduras | $4,185 | +24.9% | +34.6% |
| 28 | France | $4,065 | -1% | +12.3% |
| 29 | Kazakhstan | $4,032 | +9.2% | +6.6% |
| 30 | Argentina | $3,904 | -19.9% | -16.6% |
| 31 | Belgium | $3,860 | -0.6% | -9.6% |
| 32 | Poland | $3,826 | -2.3% | +10.1% |
| 33 | Costa Rica | $3,802 | -5.2% | +3.3% |
| 34 | Ireland | $3,791 | +6.5% | +47.2% |
| 35 | Paraguay | $3,763 | +1.5% | +7.5% |
| 36 | South Africa | $3,720 | -7.1% | +4% |
| 37 | Chile | $3,704 | -2.4% | -5.2% |
| 38 | Panama | $3,682 | +0.1% | -11.7% |
| 39 | Belarus | $3,518 | -3% | +18.7% |
| 40 | Ukraine | $3,502 | +9.5% | +44.5% |
| 41 | Saudi Arabia | $3,335 | -16.8% | +26.3% |
| 42 | Pakistan | $3,242 | -4.3% | -11% |
| 43 | Colombia | $3,175 | +0.9% | +8.1% |
| 44 | Serbia | $3,076 | -18.3% | -27.7% |
| 45 | Singapore | $2,996 | +11.8% | -27.9% |
| 46 | India | $2,957 | +5% | +0.2% |
| 47 | United Kingdom | $2,898 | -2.3% | +6.2% |
| 48 | Jordan | $2,726 | -6.6% | -6.3% |
| 49 | Namibia | $2,721 | +9.6% | +10.7% |
| 50 | Botswana | $2,717 | +2.1% | -12.3% |
The average unit price specific to the above 50 leading exporters of frozen beef was $5,340 per ton. That metric is well above the world overall average price.
The lowest average unit price for exported frozen beef per ton belong to Botswana, Namibia, Jordan, United Kingdom and India. Other low-cost frozen beef suppliers to global markets include Singapore, Serbia and Colombia.
The fastest growers in average unit price from 2019 to 2020 are Hong Kong (up 52.9%), Honduras (up 24.9%), Singapore (up 11.8%) and Guatemala (up 9.7%).
Year over year, the greatest reductions in average unit price collected for exported frozen beef by ton were posted by international suppliers in Argentina (down -19.9%), Serbia (down -18.3%), Turkey (down -17.9%), Saudi Arabia (down -16.8%), Bolivia (down -15.3%), Japan (down -14.5%), Kenya (down -12.3%) then Portugal (down -12.1%).
Average Unit Price for Top 10 Frozen Beef Exporters
The list below is sorted in descending order by the 10 major exporters of frozen beef by weight, showcasing each country’s corresponding average unit price per ton of globally exported frozen beef in US dollars. These key suppliers sold 88.8% of overall frozen beef exports by weight in 2020 and are listed in descending rank, starting with the biggest frozen beef exporters.
- Brazil: US$4,286 per ton (up 3.6% from 2019)
- India: $2,957 (up 5%)
- Australia: $4,929 (up 1.8%)
- Argentina: $3,904 (down -19.9%)
- United States: $5,824 (down -8%)
- New Zealand: $4,691 (down -0.9%)
- Uruguay: $4,662 (down -7.3%)
- Paraguay: $3,763 (up 1.5%)
- Ireland: $3,791 (up 6.5%)
- Poland: $3,826 (down -2.3%)
Four among the top 10 frozen beef suppliers by weight (Australia, United States, New Zealand and Uruguay) charged comparatively higher average unit price exceeding the global average of $4,322 per ton for all frozen beef exporters.
That data finding suggests that economies of scale for the world’s 10 biggest exporters of frozen beef do not necessarily apply. That is because for four top supplier countries, their average unit price is higher than the global benchmark price for all frozen beef exporting countries.
Major Frozen Beef Importing Countries by Quantity
Turning our attention to countries that buy frozen beef on international markets, the top 10 frozen beef importers below accounted for roughly three-quarters (75.7%) of globally imported frozen beef during 2020.
- China: 2.1 million tons (35.3% of global frozen beef imports)
- United States: 498,167 tons (8.5%)
- South Korea: 344,679 tons (5.9%)
- Japan: 338,886 tons (5.8%)
- Hong Kong: 320,648 tons (5.5%)
- Egypt: 243,066 tons (4.1%)
- Russia: 199,528 tons (3.4%%)
- Indonesia: 163,430 tons (2.8%)
- Malaysia: 151,601 tons (2.6%)
- Philippines: 113,006 tons (1.9%)
Seven among the 10 biggest importing countries by imported frozen beef volume are highly populated Asian nations, geographically close to India–one of the lowest-cost frozen beef exporters on that same continent.
Other Asian countries placing near the top of the list for the cheapest unit costs among frozen beef suppliers are Singapore and Pakistan.
See also Top Beef Exporting Countries (dollar value), Fresh or Frozen Beef Imports by Country (dollar value), Average Rice Prices Compared for Major Rice Export Countries, Average Coal Prices Compared for Major Coal Exporters by Country and OPEC Countries Crude Oil Exports Sales Data
Research Sources:
Alibaba, Supplier showroom for beef. Accessed on October 8, 2021
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on October 8, 2021
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on October 8, 2021
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on October 8, 2021
Wikipedia, Beef. Accessed on October 8, 2021
