print
print

U.S. Pork Exports Largest of 2015; Beef Exports Edge Higher

U.S. pork exports for the week of March 13-19 totaled 21,200 metric tons (mt), up 14 percent from the previous four-week average and the largest weekly volume since December. Primary destinations were Mexico (6,600 mt, -4 percent), South Korea (3,700 mt, +8 percent), Japan (3,400 mt, +1 percent), China (2,800 mt, +363 percent), Canada (1,300 mt, -4 percent), Australia (600 mt, +17 percent) and Hong Kong (530 mt, +70 percent).

Pork net sales were 19,600 mt, down 13 percent from the previous four-week average, despite a record total for Hong Kong (4,100 mt, the first weekly volume over 1,000 mt since early December). Larger sales were also reported for Australia (1,800 mt, +228 percent) and the Dominican Republic (1,000 mt, +262 percent), but were offset by lower results for Mexico (6,700 mt, -7 percent), Japan (1,800 mt, -62 percent), Korea (1,300 mt, -63 percent) and Canada (500 mt, -53 percent).

Weekly-Beef-Exports

U.S. beef exports totaled 12,500 mt, up 4 percent from the previous four-week average, driven mainly by larger shipments to Japan (4,700 mt, +38 percent). Exports also edged higher for Hong Kong (2,400 mt, +1 percent) and Canada (800 mt, +1 percent), but trended lower for Korea (1,700 mt, -23 percent), Mexico (1,400 mt, -12 percent) and Taiwan (630 mt, -1 percent). Exports to Asia remain strong, with this week’s results 18 percent higher than a year ago and accumulated exports up slightly from the same period last year.

Weekly-Beef-Sales

Beef net sales were 13,100 mt, up 2 percent from the previous four-week average, with another week of large sales for Japan (6,200 mt, +57 percent) and larger volumes for Korea (2,100 mt, +9 percent) and Taiwan (1,200 mt, +64 percent). Sales slowed for Hong Kong (1,400 mt, -60 percent), Mexico (1,000 mt, -14 percent) and Canada (520 mt, -17 percent).




NOTES:

  • 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 cancelations or adjustments.