October 18, 2006

Export of US meat increasing by leaps and bounds

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 doubled on year, according to the US Meat Export Federation.

Increased sales to Mexico, Canada and other key international markets, including the newly re-opened Japanese market have allowed the US to recapture some of the sales that were lost during the mad cow disease bans.

In August, the US shipped 34,905 tonnes of beef muscle meats, valued at more than US$137.4 million, double the volume and value last year.

For all beef, including beef-variety meat, international sales for the year through August stand at 414,080 tonnes, up 38 percent from a year ago.

Mexico, the leading US beef customer this year, and Canada, at No. 2, together account for 72 percent of total sales by volume.

However, the volume of beef and beef-variety meats sold internationally is just half of that before the beef ban.

Meanwhile, pork muscle meat exports in August moved above the year-ago level by about 8.6 percent. 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 to about 21,664 tonnes, or 9 percent, from a year ago but increased sales to other markets have more than offset the decline to Japan.

Even as US beef struggles to regain pre-ban levels, US pork exports are slated to set a new record for a 15th consecutive year.