Record Month for Red Meat Exports Shows Importance of Market Diversification

U.S. red meat exports raced to a record performance in March with pork and beef exports each posting the highest monthly value ever, reaching a combined total of nearly $1.6 billion.

Pork exports also set a new volume record at nearly 295,000 metric tons, despite shipments to leading market China/Hong Kong being lower year-over-year. U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) President and CEO Dan Halstrom says this underscores the importance of export market diversification, noting that the March pork results included strong growth in Japan and Mexico and record-large shipments to the Philippines and several Central American countries – Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Nicaragua.

Beef exports topped $800 million for the first time in March, fueled by solid growth in South Korea and a surge in exports to China, as the U.S. industry continues to expand its supply of China-eligible beef. Halstrom added that demand for U.S. beef also rebounded significantly in many key Latin American markets.

A complete summary of March/first quarter U.S. red meat export results is available from the USMEF website at www.usmef.org.

Source: USMEF