Muscle Cuts Make Export Gains

August exports of U.S. beef and pork muscle cuts were above last year's strong volumes, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). Variety meat exports were lower than a year ago, due in part to the lack of available labor required to harvest and export some items.

Led by record-large demand in South Korea and Taiwan, beef muscle cut exports were the largest in more than a year at 89,148 metric tons (mt), up 3.5% year-over-year, while export value increased slightly from a year ago to $611 million. August muscle cut exports also set new records in China and Indonesia and beef exports to Canada continued to gain momentum. Combined beef/beef variety meat exports were 109,752 mt in August, down 4.5% from a year ago. Export value was $673.8 million, down 2% from a year ago but the highest since March.

For January through August, beef muscle cut exports were 6% below last year's pace in volume (627,248 mt) and 9% lower in value ($4.38 billion). Beef/beef variety meat exports were down 8% to 808,659 mt, valued at $4.95 billion (down 9%).

August exports of U.S. pork muscle cuts were 180,369 mt, up 1% from a year ago, though value was down 11% to $448.7 million. Combined pork/pork variety meat exports were down 2% in volume (217,893 mt) and 10% lower in value ($528 million). U.S. pork exports remain on a record pace in 2020, with January-August muscle cut exports up 22% from a year ago to 1.68 million mt, valued at $4.45 billion (up 20%). Pork/pork variety meat exports were up 17% in volume at just under 2 million mt, with value up 18% to $5.13 billion.

In August, pork exports to Japan were higher year-over-year and exports to Vietnam set a new record for the second consecutive month. While still lower than a year ago, exports to Mexico and Colombia continued to show improvement.

U.S. lamb exports in August were the second largest of 2020 in both volume (3,129 mt, up 162% from a year ago) and value ($3.04 million, up 65%). With Mexico as the main growth driver, January-August lamb exports climbed 36% above last year to 14,428 mt, though value was down 3% to $17 million.

Source: U.S. Meat Export Federation

Pork

Beef

U.S. Beef Exports Climb, Pork Steady

U.S. beef exports set new records in August with export value topping $750 million for the first time, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). August pork exports were fairly steady with last year’s volume, but retaliatory duties in key markets continued to pressure pork export value. August beef exports totaled 119,850 metric tons (mt), up 7 percent from a year ago, valued at $751.7 million – up 11 percent year-over-year and easily exceeding the previous record of $722.1 million reached in May 2018. For January through August, beef exports totaled 899,300 mt, up 9 percent from a year ago, while value climbed 18 percent to $5.51 billion. August exports accounted for 13.2 percent of total beef production, up from 12.5 percent a year ago. For beef muscle cuts only, the percentage exported was 11.2 percent, up from 10.4 percent last year. For January through August, exports accounted for 13.5 percent of total beef production and 1

Pork Exports Still Down

U.S. beef exports remained on a record-shattering value pace in October, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). October pork exports trended seasonally higher compared to recent months but were still below the results posted in October 2017. Lamb export volume in October more than doubled year-over-year, while value increased nearly 50 percent. October pork export volume was 207,725 mt, the largest since May but still 2 percent lower year-over-year, reflecting smaller variety meat exports. Export value ($536.5 million) was also the largest since May but still down 5 percent from a year ago. For January through October, pork exports were 1 percent above last year’s record pace at 2.02 million mt, while value was also up 1 percent to $5.33 billion. For pork muscle cuts only, January-October exports increased 5 percent from a year ago in volume (1.63 million mt), valued at $4.43 billion (up 2 percent). Source: U.S. Meat Export Fed

Solid 2018 Start for U.S. Beef and Pork

January exports of U.S. beef were significantly higher than the large totals of a year ago while pork exports were steady in volume and increased in value, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). Beef exports totaled 105,486 metric tons (mt) in January, up 9 percent year-over-year, while export value surged 21 percent to $624.4 million. Exports accounted for 12.4 percent of total beef production in January, up slightly from a year ago. For muscle cuts only, the percentage exported increased from 9.5 percent to 10.1 percent. Beef export value averaged $293.06 per head of fed slaughter, up 14 percent year-over-year. January pork exports totaled 203,488 mt, steady with last year’s strong volume, while export value increased 7 percent to $545.6 million. Pork exports accounted for 24.7 percent of total pork production, down from 26.2 percent a year ago. For muscle cuts only, the percentage exported declined slightly to 21.5 percent.

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