October Red Meat Exports Above Year-Ago Levels; Pork on Record Pace

With USDA releasing the latest report of U.S. beef and pork exports, the numbers show year-over-year increases in October for beef and pork exports positioned to set annual value and value records in 2024, according to U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).

“We continue to see Asia rebound,” says USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom Halstrom about beef exports. “It was the largest month in Korea since March of this year.”

October beef exports totaled 105,269 metric tons (mt), up 1% from a year ago, while value increased 3% to $860.4 million. Shipments to Mexico maintained their impressive 2024 performance in October, while exports rebounded to South Korea and China/Hong Kong and increased year-over-year in Central America, the Caribbean and the ASEAN region. For January through October, beef export value was 4% above last year at $8.68 billion, despite a 2% decline in volume (1.066 million mt).

“It’s really encouraging to see Asia is contributing to some of this momentum and continued success in Latin America as well on beef,” Halstrom adds.

The number shows pork exports reached 252,411 mt in October, up 3% from a year ago, while value also climbed 3% to $710.4 million. Although shipments to leading market Mexico declined slightly, this was more than offset by growth in Japan, Central America, the Caribbean, Oceania and the ASEAN region. Through the first 10 months of 2024, pork exports increased 5% from a year ago to 2.49 million mt, valued at $7.07 billion (up 6%). For the year, exports are projected to surpass 3 million mt for the first time, exceeding the 2020 volume record (2.98 million mt) and topping last year’s value record ($8.16 billion). Shipments to Mexico were up in October with $217 million in exports, the USMEF report says.

“This just highlights the remarkable growth U.S. pork has achieved in the Mexican market, which is enabled by the duty-free access delivered through the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. This access is critical and something we can never take for granted. At the same time, the fact that global exports still achieved an increase in October really underscores the importance of market diversification.”