U.S. pork exports up, beef down

U.S. pork exports up, beef down

Seng

   Pork exports in September reached their highest level since April, the U.S. Meat Export Federation said Tuesday.
   Pork plus pork variety meat exports reached nearly 154,000 tons, a value of $347.8 million.
   'It has been a remarkable year for U.S. pork in Mexico, especially when you consider the disruption we experienced in April and May due to H1N1 influenza,' said Philip Seng, USMEF President and chief executive officer. 'USMEF worked successfully during this time to maintain our market access in Mexico, and then focused on rebuilding consumer confidence and demand. It is very gratifying to see these efforts paying off and to see the market respond so well to our product.'
   Beef exports, however, continued to drop due to a downturn in global demand and market access restrictions, USMEF said.
   September beef plus beef variety meat exports were down slightly from August, with the January-September cumulative total falling further behind last year's pace. Exports were down 25 percent in volume and 34 percent in value from September 2008, bringing the cumulative total for the year to 660,459 tons, a value of $2.28 billion. That's 12 percent below last year's pace in volume and 17 percent lower in value.
   'We are encouraged by the demand U.S. beef is generating in Japan, and the fact that importers, retailers and consumers are clamoring for our product,' Seng said. 'But this surge in demand further highlights the need for expanded access in the market if we are going to fully rebuild the presence of U.S. beef in Japan.'