October Pork Exports Set Monthly Record

By CnAgri Print

U.S. pork exports set new monthly records in October, according to statistics released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation, reaching 218,132 metric tons valued at $607 million.

Export volume was 9 percent above last year and broke the previous monthly record of 217,080 mt set in November 2011. Export value exceeded $600 million for the first time, breaking the previous high ($597.85 million, also from November 2011) by 1.5 percent.

For January through October, pork exports were 3 percent ahead of last year's record pace in volume and 6 percent higher in value.

Beef exports also posted solid results in October, with export value of$496 million, increasing 10 percent over last year despite a 4 percent decline in volume. This was consistent with this year's January-October pattern, which has seen an 11 percent decline in volume compared to 2011 while export value ($4.6 billion) remained 2 percent ahead of last year's record pace.

"With pork production at a very high level, the U.S. industry is relying on a strong performance from the international markets," said USMEF President and CEO Philip Seng. "We not only achieved that, but also maintained an excellent per-head return for producers."

Seng added that in the beef complex, volume continues to struggle compared to last year but export value is very strong.