Qianqian Wang ^1* Wangfang Xu ² Rongzhu Cheng ³

• ¹ Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China
• ² China Academy for Rural Development, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
• ³ Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China

The global beef trade, as a critical component of meat trade, plays an important role in balancing beef supply and demand worldwide. Based on complex network theory, this paper constructs a global beef trade network and conducts an in-depth analysis of the evolution of the global beef trade patterns from 2013 to 2022 at the overall, individual, and clustering levels. The results reveal an overall trend of increasing connectivity, efficiency, and tightness in the global beef trade network. In the unweighted network, the core beef-importing countries are primarily concentrated in Germany, the United Arab Emirates, and the Netherlands. However, in the weighted network, the core importing countries shift to the United States, Japan, and China. Meanwhile, the core beef-exporting countries consistently remain Australia, Brazil, and New Zealand in both network types. Additionally, the analysis identifies clustering and regionalization characteristics within the global beef trade blocks. Finally, this article provides targeted recommendations to promote the sustainable development of the global beef trade. trade, and its evolution not only affects food security and supply chain stability, but also has a link to global economic development and environmental sustainability.Research on beef trade can be generally categorized into three areas. The first focuses on supplydemand dynamics, product structures and market competitiveness in the beef trade, utilizing statistical data to conduct comprehensive investigations at global or national levels (Reeves and Hayman, 1975;