February 22, 2010

US red meat exports perform well in 2009

Foreign sales of US red meat finished 2009 on a positive note with healthy gains in volume over December a year ago.

While 2009 year-end exports of both US beef and pork were lower than the previous year, US exports equalled or bettered their main international competitiors, according to US Meat Export Federation (USMEF) statistics.

US pork exports closed the year with an 8% jump in volume and 6% in value for the month of December compared to a year ago. For the calendar year, pork exports registered the second-highest total in history. US pork exports outpaced the performance of global competitors, which slumped 15% in value for the year, led by a 22% drop for EU pork producers.

US beef exports rose 9% in volume and 4% in value for December compared to 2008. For all of 2009, global beef export value fell 16%, with Brazil's export value tumbling 23% and Australia's falling 18.5%. US beef exports for 2009 slipped 9% in volume and 15% in value compared to 2008.