U.S. beef exports again topped $1 billion in July and posted the fifth-largest volume on record, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). Exports totaled 126,567 metric tons (mt), up 3% year-over-year, and export value increased 7% to $1.006 billion. USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom said growth in Japan, China/Hong Kong, and the Philippines was a highlight for the Asian markets, while beef exports also continued to expand to the Caribbean and Central America.
?Another billion-dollar month, broad based growth in a lot of key markets,? Halstrom said. ?Japan was up 8%. China continues with growth of about 30%. Some markets like the Philippines as well that were strong and back in this part of the world, the Caribbean and Central America saw growth. That’s in the face of some pretty significant headwinds. The US Dollar continues to strengthen against some of our key currencies, specifically Japan and Korea. And that’s something to keep an eye on. And while the international logistical situation appears to be improving, it’s definitely not back to normal. We have some additional work to do there. But at least it does look like it’s improving a bit. So, I think we got to be aware of these headwinds, but the outlook still looks pretty positive going forward on beef.?
July pork exports remained below last year?s pace (208,095 mt, down 6%) but continued to gain strength in several markets, including Mexico, Colombia, and South Korea. Halstrom noted that, while July exports to China/Hong Kong were lower than a year ago, shipments were the largest of 2022 as China?s demand for imported pork rebounded to some degree.
?On the pork side, July is also similar to the last several months,? Halstrom said. ?We were down 6% year on year globally, but still saw a lot of strength out of Latin America- Mexico in particular. While the volume was down a bit seasonally, we are still up 6% for July, and we’re still maintaining record pace and double-digit growth on the value side. And, of course, we have to talk about Colombia. Colombia continues to amaze, up over 20% for the month of July off of a record year last year. You look at the rest of the world- Korea had a large month for pork. Of course, China continues to be a negative, down 16% year on year, but it is the largest volume month of the year, in July, and we forecasted that there should be an uptick in demand for imported pork for the balance of the year. It won’t be anything like 2020, but we do see a modest returning demand for China.?
For more information, visit usmef.org.
