CAB Reports Record Product Sales

Hi everybody it's time for your Wednesday Agri Beef Minute here on the Ag Information Network of the West-I'm Russell Nemetz.

Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB) celebrates its 39th Anniversary this week with a conference here attracting 600 chefs, restaurateurs, retail meat managers, packers, processors and producers.

CAB President John Stika reported the brand's second consecutive year with sales exceeding 1 billion pounds, and the 11th consecutive year of record sales.

"Certified Angus Beef sales were up 12% in fiscal year 2016 at 1 billion pounds," Stika said. "For 2017, sales are up another 10.3%, with sales of 1.12 billion pounds."

Increases in sales of CAB coincide with a dramatic overall shift in high quality cattle coming to market. In 2017, for instance, as a percentage of the total U.S. fed cattle harvest, CAB accounted for 18.4%, exceeding for the first time the percentage of fed cattle grading USDA Select, which registered 18.0%.

The acceptance rate of carcasses into the CAB brand reached 29.7% in 2017.

Stika said 40.7% of CAB sales were through retail outlets, with 34.7% sold at foodservice. International sales account for 15.3% of sales, and 9.3% classified as miscellaneous.

Specifically, Stika noted that international sales of CAB skyrocketed 24.8% in 2017, totaling a record 171.5 million pounds.

CAB's top five international markets include: Canada, Japan, Mexico, South Korea and Hong Kong.

Remember tune in for the Agri Beef Minute each Wednesday. Agri Beef Company. Real Family, Great People and Exceptional Beef.

That's your Land and Livestock Report-I'm Russell Nemetz.