September 21, 2009

US export sales for pork and beef in July were down from a year earlier, extending a sluggish trend that began early in the second quarter.

 

The US Meat Export Federation's Web site shows total sales for pork muscle meats and pork variety meats, which include organs such as kidneys and livers, for July at 152,214 tonnes, down 15.7 percent from the same period a year ago. The January-July volume was down 10 percent from 2008. The value of sales for the first seven months was nearly US$2.529 billion, off 9 percent from a year ago.

 

Exports to China/Hong Kong showed the biggest decline for the month, falling 14,663 tonnes, or 46 percent. Shipments to South Korea were off nearly 4,000 tonnes, or 39 percent, while the Asean region had a similar decline in tonnage.

 

The sluggish world economy, along with concerns in some countries about the H1N1 influenza - commonly referred to as swine flu - contributed to the reduction in meat sales abroad. Expanded hog production in China during the past year has reduced the nation's need for imported pork. In addition, China imposed a ban on pork imports from the US after the discovery of the AH1N1 strain of influenza.

 

Total beef exports in July were down 22.4 percent on year by volume. The year-to-date volume was off 6 percent. During July, the largest declines occurred in Mexico, with 16,000 fewer tonnes shipped, and Russia which showed a drop of 5,654 tonnes. Most of the reduction in sales to Mexico for the month was in beef variety meats, with muscle meats falling 4,092 tonnes.

 

Analysts said the economic crunch was made even worse in Mexico following the outbreak of AH1N1 influenza in April. That caused a drop in tourism, a large source of income for Mexico. In addition, business overall slowed there after the influenza outbreak as residents were told to avoid large crowds and urged to stay home. That slump carried over into July, analysts said.

 

Year-to-date beef muscle meat sales through the end of July were still up 1 percent by volume but down 2 percent in value, according to USMEF data.

 

Last week's cattle slaughter was estimated at 645,000 head, compared with 562,000 a week ago and 681,000 a year ago. Year-to-date cattle slaughter is down 4.9 percent from a year ago.

 

The week's hog slaughter estimate was 2.310 million head, compared with 2.038 million a week ago and 2.327 million a year ago. For the year, hog slaughter is off 3.3 percent.

 

The USDA estimated total beef, pork and lamb production for the week at 976.1 million pounds. Last week's output was 855.5 million pounds, and the year-ago figure was 1.006 billion pounds. The week's beef output was down 5.6 percent from a year ago, while pork was up 0.2 percent as heavier carcass weights offset a smaller slaughter. Year-to-date combined meat output is down 3.1 percent.

 

Broiler/fryer slaughter for the week was estimated at 164.729 million head, compared with 148.041 million a week ago and 165.893 million a year ago.