July 20, 2010

US pork and beef exports grows steadily in May

 

US pork and beef exports continued their strong 2010 performance in May, collectively growing 25% in value versus 2009 and 8% over April of 2010, according to statistics released by USDA.

At US$769.5 million, US red meat exports reached their highest monthly value since October 2008.

For producers, the gain in export value per animal processed in May was impressive: US$53.10 per animal on the pork side-nearly 30% higher than the US$40.90 recorded in May 2009. For beef, export value equated to US$160.30 per steer and heifer slaughtered compared to US$122 at this time last year-an increase of about 31%.
 

May pork export value increased 22% over a year ago and 5% from April 2010, reaching US$419.3 million. Export volume of 162,865 tonnes (359 million pounds) was up 13% over last year and 4% from the previous month.
 

The pork industry is seeing a higher return per pound on its exports in 2010. The value of those exports hit US$1.9 billion for the first five months of 2010, a 5% increase over last year. At the same time, the volume of exports this year is 787,869 tonnes (1.7 billion pounds), essentially even with last year's pace.
 

Pork muscle cut exports are up 4% in volume and 9% in value over last year, while variety meat exports are down 13% and 14%, respectively.
 

On the beef side, exports are running stronger than last year in virtually all major markets except Mexico. Global exports of 90,930 tonnes (200 million pounds) valued at US$349 million were 12% higher in volume and 25% higher in value than in May 2009. This pushed the cumulative 2010 results to 398,879 tonnes (more than 879 million pounds) valued at US$1.5 billion-an increase of 11% in volume and 19% in value over last year's pace.
 

Beef muscle cuts are performing even more impressively, increasing 25% in volume and 29% in value over January through May 2009. Similar to what the pork industry is seeing in variety meat, beef variety meat exports are down 12% and 21%, respectively.
 

Though well below last year's pace, the recent resumption of exports to Russia and China have begun to have a positive impact on the global results for US pork. Exports to Russia are still around 50% below the first five months of 2009 in both volume (24,386 tonnes or 53.8 million pounds) and value (US$55 million). But May results showed significant progress as exports returned to 88% of the volume and 97% of the value achieved in May 2009.
 

Mexico continues to be the largest volume destination for US pork, increasing 7% in volume (225,672 tonnes or 497.5 million pounds) and 27% in value (US$401.5 million) over the record pace established in 2009. May exports slowed slightly compared to the previous month, however, due in part to record-high ham prices.
 

Exports to Japan, by far the largest foreign market for US pork in terms of value, remain below last year's pace but are showing signs of recovery from the slump encountered in early 2010. May exports exceeded the year-ago level by 18% in both volume and value, raising the cumulative total to 180,326 tonnes (397.5 million pounds) valued at US$671.2 million. For the year, pork exports to Japan remain down 6% in volume and 3% in value from 2009.