U.S. red meat sales set export records last year as elevated prices and higher demand for beef equated to almost 2.5 million metric tons sold at a value of more than $13.72 billion.

John Hinners, senior vice president of industry relations for the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF), said 2022 was a good year for all red meat sales, including beef, pork and lamb.

“Our product is never going to be the cheapest, and we don’t want to be,” Hinners said last week during an Iowa Farm Bureau ...