Source: Chris Scott, MEATINGPLACE, 2/11/15

The U.S. poultry industry exported a record volume of poultry and eggs last year despite a fourth-quarter embargo by Russia that affected food and agricultural products from Western nations.

U.S. poultry exports totaled 4.1 metric tons in 2014, four-tenths of one percent above 2013 levels, according to the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS). The combined value of those exports – $5.5 billion – fell three-tenths of one percent from 2013, but came within one percentage point of the previous record set in 2013, the FAS reported.

Russia’s August 2014 ban on products from Western nations in response to sanctions following Russia’s activities in neighboring Ukraine indicates that the U.S. poultry industry is no longer dependent on one or two export markets, according to the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council (USAPEEC).

“Only a few years ago, losing a market like Russia would have been devastating. Now, it barely caused a ripple,” noted USAPEEC President Jim Sumner. “This record year demonstrates that the U.S. industry has become much more diversified.”

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