The world’s top exporters of frozen beef by total weight are Brazil, India, Australia, United States of America, Argentina and New Zealand. Combined, those 6 leading suppliers of frozen beef sold 5.35 million tons of frozen beef during 2022 or over three quarters (77.3%) 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, 4 of the biggest exporters of frozen beef (United States of America, Australia, Brazil and New Zealand) sold frozen beef on international markets in 2022 at average unit prices higher than the global average price of US$5,583 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 99.8% of the world’s frozen beef exported in 2022.
| Frozen Beef Exporter | Tons | 2021-2 | 2018-22 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazil | 1,849,255 | +33.8% | +58.9% |
| 2 | India | 1,036,367 | +2.5% | -5.7% |
| 3 | Australia | 752,170 | +1.3% | -15.3% |
| 4 | United States | 719,379 | +15.1% | +28.6% |
| 5 | Argentina | 533,148 | +12.9% | +89.3% |
| 6 | New Zealand | 463,500 | -2.7% | +11% |
| 7 | Uruguay | 342,229 | -8.4% | +17.2% |
| 8 | Paraguay | 182,797 | +50677% | +7.2% |
| 9 | Ireland | 130,427 | +2.6% | +75.6% |
| 10 | Poland | 107,982 | +1.8% | +22.1% |
| 11 | Canada | 94,168 | -12.7% | +34% |
| 12 | Netherlands | 63,965 | -1.7% | +45.9% |
| 13 | Nicaragua | 57,321 | -17.6% | -10.8% |
| 14 | Belarus | 47,518 | -41.2% | +5.6% |
| 15 | Germany | 46,248 | +10% | +2.9% |
| 16 | Spain | 45,492 | -6.5% | +35.6% |
| 17 | Hong Kong | 45,226 | +113.7% | -38.5% |
| 18 | Italy | 39,661 | -13.4% | -8.8% |
| 19 | United Kingdom | 37,216 | -11.4% | +37.2% |
| 20 | Sri Lanka | 36,619 | +110867% | 0% |
| 21 | Colombia | 28,340 | -13.2% | +111.4% |
| 22 | Russia | 26,289 | -13.3% | +545.6% |
| 23 | Costa Rica | 25,727 | -6.8% | +81% |
| 24 | Chile | 24,157 | +39.1% | +162.5% |
| 25 | France | 23,489 | -3.8% | +34.8% |
| 26 | Austria | 19,386 | -16.1% | -4.5% |
| 27 | Bolivia | 18,625 | +16% | +3701% |
| 28 | Ukraine | 15,898 | -41.1% | -38.9% |
| 29 | Belgium | 11,908 | +5.3% | -35.8% |
| 30 | South Africa | 11,404 | -33.1% | -29.7% |
| 31 | Denmark | 11,112 | -20.2% | +21.2% |
| 32 | Lithuania | 9,993 | -6.1% | +39.9% |
| 33 | Singapore | 9,783 | +27.3% | -17.3% |
| 34 | Namibia | 6,682 | +53.2% | -2.7% |
| 35 | Panama | 6,363 | +11.2% | +67.6% |
| 36 | Botswana | 3,910 | +37.2% | -75% |
| 37 | Japan | 3,717 | -15.3% | +125.3% |
| 38 | Serbia | 3,171 | +52.1% | +619% |
| 39 | Portugal | 2,330 | +15.3% | +9% |
| 40 | Romania | 2,228 | +100.9% | +79.7% |
| 41 | Pakistan | 2,202 | +9.5% | -59.7% |
| 42 | Latvia | 1,844 | +13.6% | +139.5% |
| 43 | Türkiye | 1,664 | +21.7% | +2312% |
| 44 | Honduras | 1,637 | -24.2% | -44.2% |
| 45 | Kenya | 1,509 | +29.9% | -1.9% |
| 46 | Dominican Republic | 1,394 | +74% | +533.6% |
| 47 | Vietnam | 1,211 | +208.7% | +133.3% |
| 48 | Croatia | 1,174 | -12.5% | +11.1% |
| 49 | Czech Republic | 1,120 | +25.3% | -25.3% |
| 50 | United Arab Emirates | 1,063 | -96.1% | -96.4% |
The fastest-growing major exporters of frozen beef from 2021 to 2022 were Sri Lanka (up 110,867%), Paraguay (up 50,677%), Vietnam (up 208.7%), Hong Kong (up 113.7%), Romania (up 100.9%), and the Dominican Republic (up 74%).
Posting the severest year-over-year declines in tons of exported frozen beef from year to year were suppliers located in the United Arab Emirates (down -96.1% from 2021), Belarus (down -41.2%), Ukraine (down -41.1%) and South Africa (down -33.1%).
Searchable List of Average Unit Price for Exported Frozen Beef
The world’s average unit price per ton of exported frozen beef was US$5,583 for 2022, up 31.6% from $4,242 in 2018 and up 11.8% compared to an average $4,993 for 2021.
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. Listed amounts 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 2022 compared to 2021 or 5 years earlier in 2018.
A value of 0% in those column means data for that year was unavailable.
| Frozen Beef Exporter | Avg Price | 2021-2 | 2018-22 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazil | $5,915 | +17.3% | +51% |
| 2 | United States | $8,060 | +11.6% | +25.5% |
| 3 | Australia | $6,244 | +11.2% | +38.6% |
| 4 | India | $2,759 | -5% | -9.2% |
| 5 | New Zealand | $5,875 | +13.3% | +30.8% |
| 6 | Argentina | $4,828 | +14.8% | +13% |
| 7 | Uruguay | $6,201 | +15% | +39.2% |
| 8 | Paraguay | $4,652 | +7.5% | +21.9% |
| 9 | Ireland | $5,335 | +14.3% | +31.2% |
| 10 | Poland | $5,786 | +24.8% | +34% |
| 11 | Canada | $6,092 | +5.6% | +11.7% |
| 12 | Netherlands | $6,696 | +8.3% | +9.3% |
| 13 | Germany | $7,259 | +40.8% | +33.4% |
| 14 | Nicaragua | $5,539 | +4.6% | +35% |
| 15 | Spain | $5,803 | +17.3% | +29.6% |
| 16 | Italy | $6,515 | +31.4% | +43.3% |
| 17 | Belarus | $5,067 | +30.5% | +40.6% |
| 18 | Japan | $50,059 | -14.5% | -19.1% |
| 19 | Russia | $6,757 | +6.8% | +65.6% |
| 20 | United Kingdom | $4,059 | +20.6% | +25.6% |
| 21 | France | $6,062 | +30.1% | +34.9% |
| 22 | Costa Rica | $5,236 | +11.5% | +43.7% |
| 23 | Hong Kong | $2,753 | -35.2% | -17.9% |
| 24 | Austria | $6,375 | +27.2% | +27.3% |
| 25 | Chile | $5,114 | +18.1% | +34.7% |
| 26 | Bolivia | $6,447 | +19% | +63.3% |
| 27 | Colombia | $4,108 | +4.4% | +11.7% |
| 28 | Ukraine | $4,497 | +5.8% | +47.2% |
| 29 | Belgium | $5,972 | +26.4% | +46.5% |
| 30 | Denmark | $6,391 | +26.9% | +32.2% |
| 31 | Lithuania | $6,019 | +28.7% | +39.7% |
| 32 | South Africa | $4,718 | +6.1% | +13.5% |
| 33 | Singapore | $3,612 | -17.2% | +41.4% |
| 34 | Panama | $4,005 | -9.8% | +1.3% |
| 35 | Namibia | $3,421 | +12.3% | +37.8% |
| 36 | Türkiye | $9,271 | +41.9% | +4.7% |
| 37 | Serbia | $4,586 | +32% | +62.7% |
| 38 | Portugal | $5,474 | +17.9% | -2.3% |
| 39 | Latvia | $5,947 | +41.3% | +26.8% |
| 40 | Croatia | $7,758 | +24.1% | +45.2% |
| 41 | Botswana | $2,153 | -50.3% | -34.6% |
| 42 | Pakistan | $3,535 | +3% | -4.9% |
| 43 | Kenya | $5,141 | +3.5% | +27.1% |
| 44 | Switzerland | $15,578 | +20.6% | +29.7% |
| 45 | Dominican Republic | $5,028 | +10.4% | -2.9% |
| 46 | Czech Republic | $6,130 | +41.9% | +3.1% |
| 47 | Honduras | $4,068 | +13.6% | +17% |
| 48 | Guatemala | $6,175 | +21.7% | +39.5% |
| 49 | Romania | $2,848 | -12.9% | +12.7% |
| 50 | Greece | $5,580 | +26.1% | +10.3% |
In 2022, the average unit price specific to the above 50 leading exporters of frozen beef was $6,470 per ton. That metric is well above the world overall average price of $5,583 per ton for all exporting countries.
The lowest average unit price for exported frozen beef per ton among the leading 50 exporters belong to Botswana, Hong Kong, India, Romania, Namibia and Pakistan. Other low-cost frozen beef suppliers to global markets include Singapore, Panama, and the United Kingdom.
The fastest growers in average unit price are the Czech Republic (up 41.9% from 2021), Türkiye (also 41.9%), Latvia (up 41.3%), Germany (up 40.8%), then Serbia (up 32%).
Year over year, the greatest reductions in average unit price collected for exported frozen beef by ton were posted by international suppliers in Botswana (down -50.3% from 2021), Hong Kong (down -35.2%), Singapore (down -17.2%) then Japan (down -14.5%).
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 86.8% of overall frozen beef exports by weight in 2022 and are listed in descending rank, starting with the biggest frozen beef exporters.
- Brazil: US$5,915 per ton (up 17.3% from 2021)
- India: $2,759 (down -5%)
- Australia: $6,244 (up 11.2%)
- United States: $8,060 (up 11.6%)
- Argentina: $4,828 (up 14.8%)
- New Zealand: $5,875 (up 13.3%)
- Uruguay: $6,201 (up 15%)
- Paraguay: $4,652 (up 7.5%)
- Ireland: $5,335 (up 14.3%)
- Poland: $5,786 (up 24.8%)
Six among the top 10 frozen beef suppliers by weight (United States, Australia, Uruguay, Brazil, New Zealand and Poland) charged higher average unit price exceeding the global average of $5,583 per ton for all frozen beef exporters.
That data finding reinforces that economies of scale for the world’s 10 biggest exporters of frozen beef do not necessarily apply. That is because for a half dozen 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 bought almost nine-tenths (88.4%) of globally imported frozen beef during 2022.
- China: 2.64 million tons (39.6% of frozen beef imports)
- United States: 473,576 tons (7.1%)
- South Korea: 370,992 tons (5.6%)
- Japan: 342,873 tons (5.2%)
- Indonesia: 222,320 tons (3.3%)
- Malaysia: 206,744 tons (3.1%)
- Vietnam: 190,586 tons (2.9%)
- Philippines: 182,088 tons (2.7%)
- Egypt: 151,867 tons (2.3%)
- Russia: 131,057 tons (2%)
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.
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 11, 2023
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on October 11, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on October 11, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on October 11, 2023
Wikipedia, Beef. Accessed on October 11, 2023