At 198,972t, March volumes dropped 8% year-on-year, but grew 6% compared to February this year, while value (US$570.5m) was 3% higher than last year and up 8% from the previous month. USMEF said the results were driven by strong growth in China, Mexico, Japan and Canada.
“A 20 percent increase in pork export value for the first quarter is extraordinary, especially considering the record performance of last year,” said USMEF president and CEO Philip Seng.
Export value per head reached US$59.92 in March, nearly US$4 higher than a year ago, and surpassing the previous record of US$59.53 set in November 2011. Exports represented 27.8% of total US production.
The leading market for US pork in the first quarter remained Mexico, up 17% in volume (162,721t) and value (US$299.7m), while exports to Japan, up just 1% in volume (122,899t), grew 17% in value to US$530.6m. Exports to the China/Hong Kong region were 30% higher in volume in the first quarter (115,642t) and up 82% in value to US$234.9m.
Exports to South Korea surged at the beginning of 2011 due to the culling of the domestic pig herd related to a foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak and a temporary duty-free tariff rate quota for some cuts of imported pork. Therefore, year-on-year exports were down 27% in volume and 12% in value in the first quarter of 2012, while still more than double the volume and triple the value recorded in the first quarter of 2010.
Seng added: “While domestic supplies are recovering in Korea, we are still creating new opportunities for US pork. The lower tariffs made possible by the Korea-US free-trade agreement will enhance the competitiveness of US pork in terms of price, and help us further expand the presence of chilled pork and value-added pork products in the retail and foodservice sectors. These marketing strategies have proven very effective in Japan, and I believe we can have similar success across north Asia.”
Meanwhile, beef exports went down 10% in volumes to 266,388t, and rose 4% in value, to US$1.25bn in the first quarter of 2012.
In March beef shipments dropped to 89,803t, down 23% from last year but up 3% from February, while value was US$438.5m, down 8% year-on-year but up 7% from the previous month.
“On the beef side, market access issues and price sensitivity are making volume growth difficult in some markets, but we are pleased to see export value remaining above last year’s record pace, even on smaller volumes,” said Seng.
Beef exports accounted for 12% of total production, down 15% from last year. Mexico remained the top buyer of US beef despite a 13% decline in volume, and exports to the country saw a 5% increase in value to US$250.9m. Export volume to Canada stayed flat, but value went up 15%, at US$215.4m.
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)-related restrictions in Japan caused a 7% decline in export volume, despite a 10% rise in value, to US$194m.
Market access issues took a toll on beef exports to Taiwan (-18% in volume and -11% in value) due to a controversy over ractopamine residue, while exports to Indonesia went down 86% in volume and 60% in value due to lower import quotas - figures that do not include recent restrictions imposed following a BSE case in California.