U.S. beef and pork exports see yearover- year-increases in October, with pork exports well-positioned to set annual volume and value records in 2024.
In October, the USDA released meat export data compiled by the U.S Meat Export Federation. While Korea, Central America, the Middle East, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand all had a hand in the increases, exports to Mexico and China had the most substantial impact.
Overall beef export weight increased by 1% this year to 105,269 metric tons, while its value increased 3% to $860.4 million.
Beef shipments to Mexico maintained an impressive performance in October, with exports up 7% from last year to 19,723 mt. Export value increased 5% to $108.4 million. These results pushed January-October shipments to Mexico 13% above last year at 193,006 mt, while value climbed 15% to $1.12 billion.
While exports benefited from a very strong peso in the first half of 2024, demand has held up well in recent months even with the peso weakening versus the U.S. dollar, losing 20% of its value since late May.
Mexico is a leading market for pork exports. It reached new heights in 2024 but was modestly lower in October, falling 2% from a year ago in both volume (98,728 mt) and value ($216.5 million).
Mexico has topped $2 billion and the earliest it has surpassed this milestone. Pork exports to Mexico are expected to surpass $2.5 billion this year, more than doubling in value since 2020. As the dominant destination for U.S. bone-in hams, Mexico currently accounts for 10.6% of U.S. pork muscle cut production.
Beef exports in South Korea and China/Hong Kong have rebounded, totaling 20,493 mt in October. This was an increase of 16% from last year, and the largest increase since June 2023. October export value climbed 17% to $190.6 million, also the highest since June 2023. From January through October, beef export value was 4% above last year at $8.68 billion, despite a 2% decline in volume. January-October exports to the region were 8% below last year in volume (177,542 mt) and 3% lower in value ($1.64 billion).
Although well below the large totals posted earlier in the decade, pork exports to China/Hong Kong have regained some momentum in recent months. October exports totaled 45,178 mt, up 15% from a year ago, while value increased 12% to $109.3 million. January-October shipments to China/Hong Kong were 9% below last year in volume (389,610 mt) and 14% lower in value ($933.3 million). China/Hong Kong is the largest destination for U.S. pork variety meat, with January-October exports totaling 267,587 mt, down 5% from a year ago, while value fell 12% to $633.6 million.
The complete January-October export results for U.S. pork, beef and lamb are available at https://www. usmef.org/export-data/export-statistics/ month-to-month.