March exports of U.S pork remain steady with l ast year’s volume and edged higher in v alue, according to d ata released by the United States Department of Ag riculture and compiled by the U.S Meat Export Federation.
Pork exports totaled 260,430 metric tons (mt) in March, up 0.1% from 2023, v alued at $740.8 million – u p 2% year-over-year. Through the f irst quarter, pork exports increased 6% to 762,784 m t, while exports value climbed 7% to $2.11 billion.
Dan Halstrom, USMEF president and CEO, praised pork’s “export market diversification” calling it a “strong month on the por k side.”
“When export value exceeds $70 per head slaughtered, that’s welcome news for pork producers and the entire supply chain,” Halstrom said.
After several years in the N o. 5 position f or U.S. pork exports, Korea has surpassed Ca nada as the fourth largest export destination, trailing only Mexico, China a nd Japan. March port exports to Mexico were lower year-over-year for the first time in 16 mon ths, reflecting the Easter ho liday. Exports fell by 11% to 84.808 m t, while value was down 9% to $178.4 million. However, shipments to Mexico finished the f irst quarter on a r ecord pace, up 4% fr om a year ago in volume (281,261 m t) and 6% higher in v alue ($575.1 million ).
In the U.S., March pork export value per he ad slaughtered jumped to $70.85, u p 12% from 2023, the hig hest in ne arly three years and the f ifth highest on record. The f irst quarter average increased 7% to $64.25. Ex ports accounted for 32.2% of M arch pork production and 27.9% for muscle cuts, up signif icantly from 2023 ratios of 29.1% a nd 25% r espectively. Q1 exports accounted for 29.9% of to tal production and 25.8% for muscle cuts, up from 28.2% and 24.1%, r espectively, a year ago.