2024 Was the Year of Pork

US pork exports have eclipsed previous highs in both volume and value in 2024 according to year-end data released by USDA and compiled by the US Meat Export Federation. Beef export value climbed 5% from 2023 despite a slight decrease in volume as unit, export values were record high. USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom explains the increases were driven by diversification of export markets and delivered a value of $66 her head slaughtered for pork.

“2024 was really the year of pork as terms of exports, broad-based growth across several different markets. It's been that way for most of the year. Mexico, Central America, you've got the Oceania region, Colombia, a lot, a lot of highlights. And really exciting to see this broad-based growth. And I think we're well positioned, on the pork side, to see continued growth in 2025 and like I said, it's not just Latin America, but it's a combination of Southeast Asia, Asia, and Latin America. So very good spot for us on the pork side.”

December pork exports totaled 267,132 metric tons (mt), slightly below last year’s large volume, while value increased 1% to $771.8 million. These results pushed the full-year volume to 3.03 million mt, up 4% from a year ago and topping the previous high (2.98 million mt) reached in 2020