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September pork exports steady; beef exports lower
Story Date: 11/14/2012
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Source: Michael Fielding, MEATINGPLACE, 11/3/12
U.S. pork exports in September were steady with last year’s volume, while beef exports were well below a year ago. Despite sluggish volumes, however, the value of both pork and beef exports through the third quarter of 2012 remains ahead of last year’s record-setting pace, according to statistics released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).
“We are definitely in a challenging economic environment, which is making it difficult to match last year’s export volumes,” Philip Seng, USMEF president and CEO, said in a news release. “But our products continue to command an excellent price in the international markets and provide substantial returns to U.S. producers, which is critically important at a time when they face extremely high production costs.”
September pork exports reached 183,853 metric tons, slightly exceeding last year’s total. Though export value declined 6 percent compared to last year to $505 million, it was about 2 percent higher than the August value of $495.5 million.
For January through September, pork exports were up 2 percent in volume at 1.657 million metric tons and up 6 percent in value to $4.6 billion. Exports equated to 23.6 percent of muscle cut production and 27 percent when including both muscle cuts and variety meat (compared to last year’s ratios of 22.8 percent and 27 percent). Export value equated to $56.16 per head slaughtered, 4.5 percent above the per-head average established during the same period last year.
With fewer production days this year, September beef production declined 9 percent and exports fell 17 percent in volume to 90,538 metric tons. September export value dropped 4 percent to $442.8 million, but it was significantly higher on a per-head-of-fed-slaughter basis – increasing 7 percent to $227.65.
Mexico leads September pork market highlights
September pork exports were led by strong growth in Mexico. For the year, exports to Mexico were 15 percent higher in volume (443,442 metric tons) and 11 percent higher in value ($820 million). Mexico is the leading volume market for U.S. pork and ranks second in value to Japan.
September exports to Japan trended lower but are still on pace for an excellent year. Through the first nine months of 2012, export value to Japan was up 4 percent to $1.495 billion despite a 6 percent decline in volume to 344,362 metric tons.
Led by outstanding growth in Colombia, exports to Central and South America continue to surge. Exports through September were 20 percent higher in both volume (60,739 metric tons) and value ($154.5 million) compared to last year. For Colombia, exports were up 74 percent in volume (12,350 metric tons) and 110 percent in value ($35.1 million). September export volume to Colombia also set a monthly record at 2,131 metric tons.
January-September exports to the China/Hong Kong region were still ahead of last year’s pace in both volume (313,425 metric tons, up 4 percent) and value ($632.4 million, up 21 percent). China’s domestic pork inventory, however, is much higher than a year ago and exports in the fourth quarter are unlikely to match last year. Accordingly, September exports of 30,788 metric tons were the highest since May but were still 35 percent lower than the September 2011 volume.
Beef exports to Japan remain red-hot
September beef exports to Japan were just 2 percent higher than last year in volume (12,487 metric tons), but surged nearly 25 percent in value to $86.6 million. This was consistent with the January-September performance in which exports were steady in volume (121,207 metric tons) but 23 percent higher in value ($806.1 million).
Japan now ranks second in export value to Canada, where January-September exports were down 13 percent in volume (125,625 metric tons) but still achieved a 5-percent increase in value ($829.7 million).
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