Economic meltdown fries U.S. meat exports

Economic meltdown fries U.S. meat exports U.S. beef and pork exports face a grind of limited credit availability, volatile currency exchange rates and global economic uncertainty in many foreign markets for the remainder of the year, said the U.S. Meat Export Federation.

Seng

   “We’re extremely pleased with the way beef and pork exports performed in the first eight months of the year,” said Philip Seng, USMEF president and chief executive officer. “But the financial crisis that has plagued us in the past six weeks has obviously had a major impact.”
   Japan is one of the few key trading partners whose economy has fared well in recent weeks, according to Greg Hanes, USMEF Japan director.
   “There will be some slowdown there, but not as much as we expect to see in some of the other countries,” Hanes said. “Japan is an extremely steady, consistent customer.”
   Hanes noted that seafood consumption is trending downward in Japan, and this is creating opportunities for red meat.
   Other markets have been much more heavily affected by economic conditions and the surging value of the U.S. dollar.
   “South Korea, for example, has had a sluggish economy, and the Korean won has performed poorly in 2008 versus the U.S. dollar. Still, Korea has increased its imports of U.S. pork by 47 percent in volume and 28 percent in value over last year. U.S. beef also has re-entered Korea, finding some success among small retail outlets,” the federation said.
   Mexico is the largest foreign market for U.S. beef and third-largest for U.S. pork, but the recent devaluation of the peso has caused exports to slow from the record-breaking totals reached earlier in the year. Chad Russell, USMEF director for Mexico and the Dominican Republic, said he expects September beef export results to be down about 13 percent compared to August, with pork exports expected to decline by more than 12 percent during the same period.
   Russia, a rapidly emerging market for both U.S. beef and pork, has also been slammed by the devaluation of its currency as well as a severe drop in oil revenues and other economic issues.
   “Russia is oversupplied and overstocked,” said John Brook, USMEF director for Europe, Russia and the Middle East. “There is a period of correction going on, which could last several months.”
   But he added, “In the medium term, Russia is going to be a market of tremendous interest for the United States. The Russian processing industry relies heavily on imported product, and that is a need that still must be filled.”