U.S. pork exports remained robust in February, achieving double-digit increases over last year in both volume and value, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). February pork exports totaled nearly 222,000 metric tons (mt), up 11% from a year ago, while export value increased 10% to $596 million. USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom said Mexico was once again the leading driver of this growth, but noted that markets such as the Caribbean, Central America, and the ASEAN region were also key contributors.
?The momentum continued on pork into February,? Halstrom said. ?Growth year-on-year of about 11% led by Mexico again. The Mexican market up about 6% off of a pretty good year last year, and we all know that Mexico’s vital for hams but also variety meats as well as pork loins. We also saw continued growth in the Caribbean region as food service rebounds, of course led by the Dominican Republic, but other countries as well within the Caribbean. Central America continues its growth of about 14% and the ASEAN region led by the Philippines. So really pretty broad-based growth. It was several markets continuing to contribute.?
On the other hand, U.S. beef exports totaled just over 105,000 mt in February, down 3% from a year ago, while export value dropped 16% to about $758 million. Halstrom said that beef exports were lower year-over-year but improved from the low totals posted in January.
?February was a little bit better month for beef exports,? Halstrom said. ?We were still down but saw improvement over January. We were down 3% at a 105,000 tons, but Japan and Korea continue to be relatively solid on the volume side. We were up just slightly in both markets off of a pretty good month from a year ago. I do think that Japan and Korea are seeing the impacts of the strong U.S. dollar and the inflationary environment. Outside of Asia, both Mexico and the Caribbean in particular standout. Mexico is up 10%. Similar to pork, there’s a lot of momentum and a lot of spending power coming to the surface in Mexico. Very important market for the end cuts, you know, rounds in particular but also chucks and of course variety meats. The Caribbean has been a success story for the last year honestly, a testament to the fact that food service and tourism in general is full bore recovering from the COVID impact.?
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