U.S. meat exports continue to sizzle

U.S. meat exports continue to sizzle    The U.S. Meat Export Federation reported for September that the United States exported 86,182 metric tons of beef valued at $339.3 million.
   For the year, beef exports increased 16 percent in volume to 766,791 metric tons, and rose 27 percent in value to $2.9 billion.
   Similarly, the value of U.S. pork exports climbed 10 percent over 2009 totals to $382.6 million even though export volume slipped 3.6 percent to 148,416 metric tons. In the first nine months of 2010, export volume is up 2 percent to 1.39 million metric tons, with value up 9 percent to $3.5 billion.

Seng

   “We are finding a very positive and receptive audience for U.S. red meat in the international market,” said Philip Seng, USMEF president and chief executive officer, in a statement. “The challenge is to sustain this aggressive growth pace and continue to diversify our markets.
   “To that end, USMEF has been working closely with the exporting community to identify new opportunities in the global marketplace — whether it be new niches within existing markets or entirely new regions — to ensure that exports continue to grow and producers continue to see a healthy return,” he said.
   For the year, the top five beef export markets in terms of value remain Mexico, Canada, Japan, the ASEAN region and South Korea. During September, the top five markets were Canada, Mexico, Japan, South Korea and the Middle East — the latter led by Egypt, according to USMEF.
   In specific, beef exports to Canada in September jumped 8.4 percent in value to $65.6 million, slightly surpassing exports to Mexico that were valued at $63.4 million, a 14.2 percent decline from last year.    Japan was third with beef exports valued at $58.9 million, a 52 percent spike.
   The top five value markets for U.S. pork exports in September were:
   ' Japan, $126.2 million, a 15 percent jump over 2009.
   ' Mexico, $73.6 million, up 21 percent.
   ' Canada, $53.1 million, up 2.6 percent.
   ' Hong Kong-China region, $44.3 million, up 32.2 percent.
   ' Russia, $28.2 million, down 19.3 percent.
   September pork exports from the United States to China totaled 20,375 metric tons, the largest volume since June 2008 when China imported unprecedented volumes of pork driven by domestic shortages, high prices and preparation for the Olympics. Rising hog and pork prices in China should continue to support strong demand for U.S. pork.
   “Market access issues in key markets like China and Russia have affected export totals for the year, but the highlight I see in September is a higher value return on smaller amounts of exports,' Seng said. 'Increasing the value of our exports is certainly a top priority.”
   The USMEF noted that Mexico continues to be the bright spot for U.S. lamb exports, importing 3,723 metric tons valued at $7 million so far this year, increases of 43 percent in volume and 54 percent in value.    Mexico accounts for 43.3 percent of the value of total U.S. lamb exports.
   Overall, lamb exports continue to slump, falling 2 percent in volume to 8,136 metric tons and 23 percent in value to $16.2 million for the first nine months of 2010.