U.S. Exports Show Post-holiday Rebound; Sales Still Sluggish

U.S. beef exports for the week of July 8-14 totaled 14,600 metric tons (mt), up 27 percent from the previous week and 9 percent above the prior four-week average. Increased exports to Japan (4,890 mt, +4 percent), South Korea (3,990 mt, +21 percent; the largest since March 2011), Mexico (1,810 mt, +23 percent; the largest since May) and Taiwan (907 mt, +10 percent; the largest since April) outweighed decreased exports to Canada (1,210 mt, -12 percent) and Hong Kong (1,090 mt, -2 percent).

Beef net sales totaled 14,400 mt, up 13 percent from the previous week but 2 percent below the prior four-week average. Increased sales to South Korea (4,220 mt, +27 percent), Hong Kong (2,710 mt, +41 percent) and Mexico (2,090 mt, +6 percent) were offset by slower sales to Japan (2,760 mt, -37 percent), Canada (900 mt, -21 percent) and Taiwan (840 mt, -33 percent).

For 2016/2017, net sales were reported for Canada (100 mt) and South Korea (100 mt).

U.S. pork exports totaled 20,200 mt, up 30 percent from the previous week and 9 percent above the prior four-week average. Exports increased to most main destinations including Mexico (7,170 mt, +17 percent; the largest since May), Japan (4,750 mt, +23 percent; the largest since last June), Canada (1,610 mt, +26 percent), South Korea (1,150 mt, +3 percent), Australia (590 mt, +8 percent) and Colombia (430 mt, +45 percent) but decreased to China (2,620 mt, -22 percent) and Hong Kong (1,070 mt, -19 percent).

Pork net sales were up 82 percent from the previous week to 11,300 mt, but 19 percent below the prior four-week average. Sales were steady to Mexico (5,360 mt) and increased to Japan (4,310 mt, +30 percent), Australia (1,290 mt, +863 percent; the largest since March) and Colombia (1,000 mt, +137 percent; the largest since last June). Sales slowed to South Korea (1,330 mt, -11 percent), Canada (1,110 mt, -37 percent) and Hong Kong (960 mt, -19 percent), and corrections resulted in negative net sales for China (-5,920 mt).

Source: USDA/FAS (includes exports and sales of whole muscle cuts).
Percent change is compared to the previous four-week average, unless otherwise noted.
Export is defined as an actual shipment from the U.S. to a foreign country.
Export sale is defined as a transaction entered into between a reporting exporter and a foreign buyer. Sales can be cancelled or adjusted in following weeks, thus “net” sales are reported as the difference between new sales and any cancellations or adjustments.