Import and Export of Goat Meat
The United States was a net exporter of goat meat up until 1990. Exports ceased due to increased domestic demand after 1994. This shift is another indication of increased interest in goat meat consumption nationally. In 2007, the United States imported 10,166 metric tons (MT), or nearly 23 million pounds, of goat meat. With an average carcass weight of 32 pounds each, an estimated 718,000 goat carcasses were imported. This number of goats imported is a potentially viable value-added enterprise opportunity for U.S. based goat farmers to diversify small farms.
The main exporters of goat meat to the United States are Australia and New Zealand, with more than 90 percent of the contributions coming from Australia. In 2007, the United States imported 10,166 MT of goat meat valued at $37 million, up 146 percent from 6,982 MT in 2002. Imported goat meat price per kilogram, $3.65,was up 173 percent from $2.11 in 2002. According to the 2007 USDA-Foreign Agriculture Service, in 2005 and 2006, the United States imported 18.6 MT of goat meat from Mexico that are calculated in the total import (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Changes in the goat meat imported to the United States from 2002 to 2007.