May 19, 2006

 

First-quarter US pork and beef exports higher on-year

 

 

US pork exports continued to soar through the first quarter of the year, exceeding Q1 2005 by 21 percent overall and by 22 percent for muscle-meat sales, putting this year's volume on track for another record performance.

 

Total pork exports, which include muscle meats and pork-variety meats such as hearts and livers, for all of 2005 were reported at nearly 1.158 million tonnes. Last year's figure was nearly double the volume of the year 2000, which was 581,655 tonnes. Total pork exports topped one million tonnes for the first time in 2004.

 

According to the US Department of Agriculture's latest export data released late last week, Mexico was the largest international customer for US pork during the first quarter, taking in about 98,000 tonnes, or almost 30 percent of the total exported. Japan ranked second, with 80,665 tonnes, or 24.7 percent, of the total.

 

The leading growth markets for US pork so far this year, compared with 2005 volume, include Mexico, South Korea, Russia and Hong Kong, according to data on the US Meat Export Federation's website.

 

Muscle meats made up 79.8 percent of the total pork volume and 87 percent of the sales value.

 

Beef exports also are up from a year ago, topping last year's first-quarter volume by 37 percent. However, the January-March volume was just 45 percent of the same-period 2003 figure, which was before bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease  was found in the US.

 

Beef exports declined sharply in 2004 after mad cow disease was found in a cow in Washington state in Dec 2003 which resulted in import bans on US beef imposed by most of the country's trading partners.

 

Many of the countries later eased the import bans but Japan and South Korea currently remain closed. Japan began accepting US beef late last year but re-instituted the ban after only about a month when a small shipment from New York-based Atlantic Veal and Lamb contained backbone material, which is not allowed according to the Japanese/US beef trade agreement.

 

US officials continue to negotiate with their counterparts in Japan and South Korea in an effort to reopen those markets to US beef.

 

Mexico was the leading importer of US beef during the first quarter, taking in more than 80,000 tonnes. It accounted for 60 percent of the total volume for beef and beef variety meats. Mexico led the others in growth during the quarter, with nearly 24,000 more tonnes than during the same period in 2005. Egypt was the second-largest gainer, followed by Canada.