May 13, 2011
US red meat shipments increase drastically
Shipments of US beef and pork remained on a record-setting speed in March, with beef posting a 65% increase in value in contrast to year-ago levels and pork showing an outstanding 40% rise, according to statistics compiled by the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF).
"We are seeing rebounding global demand for high-quality US red meat products, particularly as consumer trust recovers in key markets like Japan and South Korea," said Philip Seng, USMEF president and CEO. "We are certainly still facing obstacles in the international marketplace, such as China's ban on US beef, Mexico's NAFTA-related tariff on US pork, technical issues in Taiwan and age restrictions on beef exports to Japan, but even without the resolution of any significant access issues, we are finding increased opportunities to expand market share for US red meat products."
March export levels for both pork and beef set new value and volume records. March pork exports hit 217,025 tonnes and surpassed US$553.6 million in value, a 31.3% increase in volume and 40% jump in value over year-ago levels. For the first quarter of 2011, pork exports accounted for nearly 27% of total production and US$50.79 in per-head export value.
For the first quarter of 2011, beef exports equated to 13.4% of production with value at US$186.58 per head of fed slaughter.
The top growth market for beef was South Korea with first quarter exports up 181% to 52,635 tonnes and value up 190% to US$226.4 million. This puts Korea narrowly behind Mexico for the top spot among US beef export destinations. Total March beef exports of 24,485 tonnes surged above March 2003 volume when Korea was the third export market for US beef and were three times larger than March 2010 exports. The US accounted for 38% of Korea's first quarter beef imports, up from 30.5% market share a year ago.
Exports to Japan surged in the first quarter, up 73% to 31,989 tonnes and up 85% in value to US$176.4 million. March exports of 11,630 tonnes were up 70% and 91.2% in value to US$70.2 million from March 2010.
Weekly beef export data indicates that shipments to Japan have maintained this strong pace, even following the devastating March 11 earthquake. The US also has gained beef market share in Japan, accounting for 19.5% of first quarter imports, up from 15% year-ago. Japan is currently the fourth-largest market for US beef, after Mexico, Korea and Canada.
March exports to Mexico showed reason for continued optimism, up 24% to 23,307 tonnes and up 44.4% in value to US$87.8 million. First-quarter exports are up 10% in volume to 63,849 tonnes and up 30% in value to US$239.4 million. US imports of feeder cattle from Mexico also have been strong this year, following a 30% increase last year, which could help demand for more beef from the US.
Canada's in volume increased 15% to 36,922 tonnes and 35% in value to US$187.7 million for the quarter and on a similar pace in March. Canadian cattle slaughter was down 10.6% through April of 2011 as years of herd liquidation have limited beef production. This, along with a strong Canadian dollar, should continue to support imports of US beef. Imports of live cattle from Canada also were down 20% in the quarter, further evidence of tight supplies of cattle to the north.
Despite unrest in the region, the Middle East continues to be a booming market for US beef. First quarter totals are up 35% in volume to 35,143 tonnes and 63% in value to US$71.5 million. In March, year-over-year increases of 33.6% in volume and 42.6% in value were achieved.
US exports to Russia also experienced an increase whereby volume was up 9% to 13,964 tonnes and 12% in value to US$32.4 million for the quarter. March shipments jumped 26.7% in volume and 11.2% in value. Exports should gain further momentum in the coming months to fill the US tariff rate quota of 41,700 tonnes which is 20,000 tonnes more than last year.
First quarter exports to this region were down 19% in volume to 17,777 tonnes and 14% in value to US$61.3 million due to a 43% declination in to Vietnam. However, exports to Indonesia doubled in volume, reaching 4,435 tonnes valued at US$6.2 million, while exports to the Philippines increased 21% to 2,957 tonnes valued at US$9.2 million, a 30% hike.
Beef exports to Hong Kong jumped 72% in volume to 13,082 tonnes and 107% in value to US$59.7 million for the quarter. In March, volumes were up 46% over year-ago levels while values doubled.
Reflecting market access challenges, first quarter exports to Taiwan were down 20% in volume to 6,789 tonnes and 13% in value to US$39.2 million, but March totals showed some rebound, up 4.4% in volume and 9.9% in value. Taiwan's import data for April also show improvement.
