Trump triggers economic alarm bells as exports of an American staple crater: report

The Trump administration erroneously touted export numbers for an American staple while the real numbers spark concern, per a report.

Reuters reported that the U.S. Department of Agriculture had to revise beef export sales and slash numbers by 90 percent compared to the incorrect number offered for a sales period ending in late June.

The USDA touted in early July that the exporters sold more than 126,000 metric tons of U.S. beef to foreign buyers, but the real number turned out to be just over 12,000 metric tons.

The error came as U.S. beef prices have reached record highs this year because of "tight cattle supplies" and demand, and beef exports have also continued to decline since 2022, Reuters reported.

Although domestic demand for hamburgers and steaks is strong, the increased price and reduced production of beef are feeding the declining exports, Reuters noted.

"We're priced out of the world market to a certain extent," Austin Schroeder, a commodity analyst at Brugler Marketing & Management, told Reuters. "It wouldn't make a lot of sense for that big of an export number."

The USDA also erroneously reported record sales of more than 38,000 metric tons of beef to Chile and more than 32,000 metric tons to Italy, according to Reuters, which noted neither of those countries is a major market for U.S. beef. The corrected figures revealed the U.S. actually sold 367 tons to Chile and 350 tons to Italy, and revised sales downward to 14 other countries as well, according to Reuters.

The U.S. also has low domestic supplies of beef and has had to increase the amount of beef it imports, Reuters added. The beef industry was threatened by the outbreak of screwworm earlier this year, which led to the declaration of a state of disaster in Texas.