From staff reports U.S. Meat Export Federation President and CEO Dan Halstrom recently gave some insight into the growth seen in the pork export market last September.
With pork exports well positioned to set annual volume and value records in 2024, Halstrom credits the growth to the countries of Colombia, Mexico and Japan, as well as several regions of Central America, Southeast Asia, and Oceania.
“It was certainly another robust month for pork exports to Mexico and shipments to Japan were above last year,” he said. “But the broadbased growth reflects the U.S. industry’s strong commitment to market diversification.”
In September, U.S. pork exports to Mexico increased 3% year-overyear to 91,492 metric tons to taling $202.6 million, with exports possibly exceeding $2.5 billion by the end of 2024. Cen tral American exports grew 36% to 12,895 m t, valued at $41.9 million. This growth was driven by demand in Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Sal vador, Panama and Nicaragua.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations saw an 83% increase to 7,701 mt, worth $16 million, partly due to supply gaps caused by African swine fever. In September, exports to ASEAN rose 17% in volume and 8% in value.
Meanwhile, September exports to Colombia rose 43% to 10,924 m t, valued at $33.4 million. The Dominican Republic and Caribbean nations showed robust growth, while shipments to Japan increased by 6% to 24,625 mt. Exports to Oceania rose 41%, an increase of 7,709 mt, valued at $28.9 million, a nd South Korea’s exports rose 25% year-to date. Lastly, exports to China/Hong Kong reached 41,405 mt, their highest in 15 months, despite a year-todate decline.
The export value per head was $65.11, a 6% increase year-overyear, with port exports accounting for 29.6% of total production. The January-September Average rose $66.15 per head, reflecting a 5% increase.
Overall, September pork exports totaled 238,047 metric tons, an 8% increase from 2023, while value increased by 6% to $685.1 million. Through the first 3 quarters of the year, pork exports were 5% above last year’s pace at 2.23 million m t, with value up 7% to $6.36 billion.