U.S. beef exports set new volume and value records in May, according to the latest data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). May beef exports reached 135,006 metric tons (mt), up 1% from the previous high posted in May 2021. Export value climbed 20% to $1.09 billion, breaking the March 2022 record. USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom said these records came despite a slight year-over-year volume decline in the two largest export markets ? South Korea and Japan ? highlighting the U.S. beef industry?s success in achieving broad-based export growth.
?The May 2022, exports stats again on beef continue to be record breaking,? Halstrom said. ?We exceeded 1 billion in value again, in the month of May to an all-time record high. Also record breaking on a volume basis, broad based growth once again. It’s not any one market- we continue to see growth out of China. But we have other parts of the world: Indonesia, Philippines, Caribbean region, places like Colombia, all showing significant growth. One of the things we’re always focused on from both the beef and pork side is market diversification. We’re trying to create incremental growth in some newer markets. We have a record month in May, and that’s with two of our larger markets, Japan and Korea both being down slightly on volume. So, the strategy is working in really exploring and investing in some of these new regions around the world.?
While May pork exports were well below last year?s large totals, shipments were the largest of 2022 in both volume (224,677 mt) and value ($655.1 million), led by strong performances in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Colombia. Halstrom said pork variety meat exports also rebounded to China, reaching the largest volume since July 2021.
?For the month of May on pork, while still down about 20% year on year comparison, it was optimistic in a sense that it was our largest month of the year,? Halstrom said. ?In Mexico, almost 80,000 metric tons in May- up 12%. Places like Colombia are up almost 20% as well, and the Caribbean region is up, led by the Dominican Republic. I think what we’re seeing here is in addition to some of the really strong retail demand, we’re starting to see food service combined with retail on the pork side and we’re seeing significant rebound in some of these markets. One final thought on the pork side is very good numbers into China on pork variety meats, so that’s positive.?
U.S. lamb exports continued to trend higher in May, led by growth in the Caribbean and Mexico. Lamb exports increased 35% from a year ago to 1,856 mt, while export value climbed 40% to $2.55 million. For more information, visit usmef.org.
