Source: Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE, 1/9/18


U.S. pork exports reached a record value in November while the value of beef exports set a pace toward a full-year record, according to export results released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).

November export value was a record-high $615.6 million, up 5 percent year-over-year and only the fourth time monthly export value has topped $600 million, USMEF. Through November, pork export value increased 10 percent to $5.9 billion. Meanwhile, November pork volumes were 223,962 metric tons (mt), down a bit from a year earlier. However, through the first 11 months of 2017, export volume remained on pace for a new record at 2.23 million mt, up 7 percent year-over-year.

Exports accounted for 27.7 percent of total pork production in November and 24.1 percent for muscle cuts only, both similar to 2016 levels. For January through November, these ratios increased about one percentage point from a year ago to 26.5 percent of total production and 22.2 percent for muscle cuts. November pork export value averaged $58.38 per head slaughtered, up 6 percent from a year ago and the highest in six months. Through the first 11 months of the year, per-head export value averaged $53.18, up 7 percent.

Beef exports reached 111,915 mt in November. This was a 3 percent fall from November 2016, but it stood as the second-highest monthly total of the year. Export value, at $666.4 million, was also the second-largest of 2017 and an 8 percent bump over the year-earlier number. Export volume through the first 11 months of 2017 totaled 1.15 million mt, up 7 percent, while export value climbed to $6.6 billion – up 15 percent from a year ago and slightly above the record pace established in 2014.

Beef exports accounted for 13.1 percent of total production in November, the highest since July but down from 14.9 percent in November 2016. For muscle cuts only, the percentage exported was 10.9 percent – down from 11.7 percent a year earlier. For January through November, beef exports accounted for 12.8 percent of total production (down from 13.5 percent in 2016) and 10.3 percent for muscle cuts (steady with 2016).

November beef export value averaged $306.63 per head of fed slaughter, up 4 percent from a year earlier and the highest in nearly three years. January-November export value averaged $282.34 per head, up 9 percent.

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