U.S. pork exports to Mexico strong before swine scare

U.S. pork exports to Mexico strong before swine scare    A strong month of pork exports to Mexico in March could be undermined by the swine flu scare, the U.S. Meat Export Federation said Wednesday.
   Port exports to Mexico in March nearly doubled in volume from the same month in 2008, and increased by 76 percent by value to $65.2 million. For the first quarter, pork exports rose 74 percent by volume and 66 percent by value.
   'This performance is remarkable considering the sluggish economic conditions in Mexico, though these results do not reflect the economic slowdown Mexico has endured over the past few weeks due to H1N1 Influenza,' the USMEF said in a statement.
   'The good news is that U.S. pork has been performing extremely well in Mexico, and we have continued to grow the market at a very strong pace,' said Chad Russell, USMEF regional director for Mexico and the Dominican Republic. 'The bad news, obviously, is the disruption that has taken place in the market since that time. We have a significant rebuilding project underway with regard to pork demand and consumer activity in general, but these numbers give us confidence that U.S. pork has a solid following and will bounce back quickly.'
   While pork exports to Japan — the No. 1 market for U.S. pork — have grown 13 percent by volume and 26 percent by value in the first quarter, other Asian markets have not been so robust.
   'Pork exports to the China-Hong Kong region have declined by 36 percent compared to the first quarter of 2008, with exports to Russia declining 38 percent in volume and 44 percent in value,' the federation said. 'These declines have been largely offset, however, by growth in Taiwan, the ASEAN region, the Caribbean, Australia and Central and South America.'