U.S. pork, beef exports sink in April, while lamb exports skyrocket

However, U.S. pork exports in April saw year-over-year growth in the China/Hong Kong market, while beef increased to Mexico and other Western Hemisphere markets, U.S. Meat Export Federation President and CEO Philip Seng said.    The United States experienced year-over-year declines in beef and pork export volumes and value in April, while lamb export volumes and value surged year-over-year, according to data provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which was compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).
   Beef exports refer to beef and beef variety meat; pork exports refer to pork and pork variety meat; and lamb exports refer to lamb, mutton and lamb variety meat.
   During the month, the U.S. exported 88,190 metric tons of beef valued at $481 million, a year-over-year drop of 4.4 percent and 13.4 percent, respectively.
   In terms of volume, Mexico was the leading market for beef exports, with the U.S. exporting 20,534 metric tons of beef to its southern neighbor during the month. Japan was the leading market for beef exports in terms of value, with the U.S. exporting $122.3 million worth of beef to the Asian country.
   Meanwhile, U.S. pork export volumes during the month fell 5.9 percent from April 2015 to 188,324 metric tons. In addition, pork export value tumbled 8.9 percent year-over-year to $466.7 million.
   The U.S. exported the highest volumes of pork to Mexico at 53,413 metric tons, while Japan was the leading value market for pork exports at $126.7 million.
   “Although volumes were lower year-over-year, we did see encouraging signs in the April export results,” USMEF President and CEO Philip Seng said. “While the European Union continues to be the dominant pork supplier to China, U.S. pork is achieving growth in the China/Hong Kong market despite significant market access barriers. For U.S. beef, improvement in Mexico and other Western Hemisphere markets was a very positive development. USMEF has worked closely with the retail and foodservice sectors to promote underutilized cuts and overcome our price challenges in these markets, and those efforts are definitely paying dividends.”
   Despite U.S. beef and pork exports suffering during the month, lamb exports were much stronger compared to last April, primarily driven by a surge in lamb exports to Mexico, which is the leading market for lamb exports in terms of volume and value. During the month, the U.S. exported 514 metric tons of lamb to Mexico valued at $773,000.
   Overall U.S. lamb exports to all nations combined in April totaled 639 metric tons valued at $1.6 million, a year-over-year increase of 26 percent and 29.7 percent, respectively.
   “Bermuda continues to reemerge as a strong destination for U.S. lamb, while other promising markets include Panama and Chile,” the USMEF said. “Near the end of April, U.S. lamb also regained access to Taiwan for the first time since 2003. Near the end of April, U.S. lamb also regained access to Taiwan for the first time since 2003.”