U.S. pork exports concluded an excellent first half with another strong performance in June, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). While well below the record pace established in 2022, June beef exports topped $900 million in value, pushing first-half export value to nearly $5 billion. USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom said that, while the growth in pork sales is led by Mexico, a number of regions are contributing to the strong exports.
“For the first six months we’re up 14% on volume and up 12% on value,” Halstrom said. “And the real star of the show continues to be Mexico, up 14% off of last year, by far a record. So that’s encouraging, but I would say what’s even more encouraging is that it’s not just one country. I mean, we’ve got the Hong Kong – China region up mainly driven by variety meats. Japan had a good month in June, demand is solid on the pork side. And there’s some outside factors helping that like the shortage or relatively short situation of pork in Europe, which is making U.S. pork even that much more attractive in markets like Taiwan.”
Halstrom also said some bright spots emerged in the beef export side as the export contribution to per-head fed cattle value climbed back above $400.
“We had the highest value since the fall of 2022 for a month, so easily the largest value month for this year, led by Mexico,” Halstrom said. “And if you look at Mexico year to date, we’re up 14% on the beef side and that’s a combination of variety of meats and muscle cuts. We have some other regions continue to show growth as well. Africa having a tremendous first half of the year, led by variety meats of course, South Africa in particular. The EU is up, and you have places like Peru that are up led by a variety meats, so I would say that the beef side – you’re starting to see some trend lines come through that are more and more positive every day.”
For more information, visit usmef.org.
