December 14, 2007

US pork exports in October beat record

The US pork exports in October which totaled 130,424 metric tonnes broke the record for a single month set in November 2006.

The previous record was 122,225 mt valued at US$289 million. The October exports brought the January through October total volume to 1,035,816 mt, a 1 percent increase over the same period in 2006 and a 9 percent increase in value at US$2.524 billion.

US pork production increased 11 percent in October, compared to October 2006, and October exports (not including variety meats) were equivalent to 14 percent of October production.

January through October exports to Japan, the leading market for US pork, increased 9 percent in volume (296,359 mt) over last year and 13 percent in value (US$953.4 million).

Mexico remains the second market for US pork despite a 25-percent decrease in volume (221,743 mt) and a 21 percent drop in value ($362.4 million) year-on-year.

The Hong Kong/China region has seen the largest growth, with exports increasing 86 percent in volume (128,947) and 105 percent in value (US$200.2 million).

Exports to the EU increased by 68 percent, the top three destinations being France, Britain and Germany.

ASEAN imports increased 45 percent to 11,216 mt, with the Philippines as the primary destination followed by Singapore and Vietnam.