U.S. Pork Exports Stay Strong in 2012

By CnAgri2012-08-24 19:37:28 Print

Through the first five months of the year, U.S. Pork exports exceeded last year's record pace by 6 percent in volume and 15 percent in value.

"A lot of this strength is attributed to China," says Becca Hendricks, assistant vice president of international marketing for the Pork Checkoff.

Despite an upswing in China's domestic pork supplies, China's purchases of U.S. Pork were up 34 percent in volume (425.3 million pounds) and 83 percent in value ($389.2 million) during the first five months of 2012, compared to that time last year. In addition, the export value of U.S. Pork has been trending upward to nearly every major destination in 2012. "These trends definitely play a role in producers' profitability," says Tim Bierman, a wean-to-finish pork producer from Larrabee, Iowa, who chairs the National Pork Board's Trade Committee. He says the current export values equate to more than $58 per head.