September 10, 2013

US beef and pork exports had continued good growth in July 2013 due to strong performances from leading markets.

Beef exports set new highs for the year, while lamb saw a slight downturn in exports, according to the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF).

Beef exports to Japan, Mexico and Canada saw double-digit increases, and were a contributing factor in beef exports rising 9% in volume during July, which is a 21% increase over 2012.

USMEF president and CEO, Philip Seng, explained that opportunities for exporting beef to Asian countries were progressing. "Expanded access in Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan has helped each of these key markets move closer to their full potential, and we are focusing our resources there to maximise opportunities to serve the growing demand in the region," Seng added.

US pork exports posted an 8.5% volume increase in July, which was a 7.5% increase compared with the previous year. The pork market thrived off the growth in Mexico, China, Hong Kong, and Central and South America. However, the good growth was offset by continued access issues in Russia and heavy competition in Japan.

According to Seng, Japan is the highest-value pork market in the world, and the US is facing intensified competition and one of 25 countries exporting pork to Japan. While the US industry has de-emphasised the priority of their promotional programmes in Japan, their competitors are aggressively working to take market share. As a result, their share of Japan's pork import market is down 3% so far this year.

Despite remaining high by 16% for the year, lamb exports did not follow the positive growth in July and dipped 3.2% in value, with a 16% drop in volume.