October 18, 2006

US beef muscle cut exports up 72 percent in January-August

Export sales of US beef muscle cuts for the first eight months of this year are up 72 percent from a year ago after August sales came in at double the tonnage that was shipped in that month a year ago, according to data compiled by the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF) and reported on its website.

The reopening of the Japanese market to US beef in late July along with increased sales to Mexico, Canada and other key international markets have allowed the US to recapture some of the sales that were lost after the discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, in December 2003.

In August, the US shipped 34,905 tonnes of beef muscle meats, valued at more than US$137.4 million. The volume and value figures were both approximately double the year-ago same-month totals.

For all beef, including beef-variety meat items such as kidneys, livers and other organ meats, international sales for the year though August stand at 414,080 tonnes, up 38 percent from a year ago. Mexico, the nation's leading international customer this year, and Canada, at no. 2, together account for 72 percent of the total sales by volume and 80 percent by value.

However, the year-to-date volume of beef and beef-variety meats sold internationally is just 48 percent of the 2003 January-August total.

Pork muscle meat exports in August moved back above the year-ago level by about 8.6 percent after falling off the pace a bit in July. Sales for the year-to-date are up 12 percent. The top three international customers for US are Japan, Mexico and Canada, and combined they account for about 67.5 percent of the total.

Sales to Japan for the year are down about 21,664 tonnes, or 9 percent, from a year ago. However, expanded sales to Mexico, South Korea, Russia, and several other markets have more than offset the decline to Japan.

US pork exports are on target to set a new record for a 15th consecutive year.