April 13, 2009

A jump in pork variety meat exports in February of 45 percent helped overcome a slight decline in pork muscle cuts, boosting total pork exports to a 4.7 percent increase in value over February 2008, according to the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF).

 

USMEF president and chief executive officer Philip Seng said the anticipated sharp declines in pork exports to certain markets, including China, when compared to the results we saw last year.

 

Seng said that however markets such as Japan and Mexico continue to perform extremely well, and US pork is really gaining traction in many key regions across the world, adding that the diversity and global reach of marketing efforts are really paying off.

 

Total US pork exports in February were valued at US$368.2 million, with pork muscle cut exports at US$305.6 million, down by about 1 percent compared to last year, but still remained 45 percent above the February 2007 value.

 

In terms of volume, pork plus pork variety meat exports of 158,471 tonnes represented an increase of 1 percent over February 2008 and 57 percent over February 2007.

 

Through January and February, year-to-date pork plus pork variety meat exports increased 3 percent in volume over last year to 315,121 tonnes and 6 percent in value to US$728.4 million.

 

Japan continues to be the top-performing value market for US pork. Its February total of 37,774 tonnes valued at US$138.6 million outpaced February 2008 by 18 percent in volume and 32 percent in value.

 

Mexico showed even more remarkable growth as its February volume at 42,458 tonnes surged by 64 percent over last year and value at US$65.6 million jumped by 60 percent.

 

Other markets showing excellent growth included Taiwan, where pork plus pork variety meat exports doubled in value compared to February 2008 and increased by 107 percent in volume.

 

Exports to the ASEAN region climbed by 60 percent in volume and 80 percent in value with Philippines and Singapore leading the region gains.

 

Exports to Australia climbed by a similar percentage, increasing by 76 percent in both volume and value. Exports to the Caribbean jumped by 122 percent in volume and 114 percent in value over February of last year, led by a near-tripling of shipments to the Dominican Republic.

 

Global pork exports are proving to be very resilient, as these gains helped the US pork industry weather steep declines in sales to Russia and China.

 

Year-to-date pork plus pork variety meat exports to Russia have declined 49 percent in volume and 57 percent in value compared to January-February 2008.

 

Exports to China region are down 46 percent in volume and 48 percent in value compared to 2008, with exports to China declining nearly 75 percent.

 

These results are not particularly surprising, considering both countries' concerted efforts to increase domestic pork production and reduce their reliance on imports.

 

According to USMEF senior vice president for the Asia-Pacific region Joel Haggard, China has been particularly aggressive in this area, adding that the country's efforts to bolster its hog industry include assistance in the form of direct cash subsidies to large-scale farms, tax breaks for hog producers and development of targeted hog-raising counties throughout the country.