New export record for US pork in April
April pork export volume was 230,049 metric tons (mt), up 13 percent from a year ago and topping the previous high set in November 2016.
April export value was $584.1 million, also up 13 percent. For January through April, pork export volume was 4 percent ahead of last year’s record pace at 866,346 mt, while value increased 9 percent to $2.29 billion. (For pork muscle cuts, excluding variety meat, April was also a record volume month at 184,487 mt, up 18 percent from a year ago. Muscle cut export value was $480.6 million, up 14 percent.)
Exports accounted for nearly 30 percent of total pork production in April, up from 28.4 percent a year ago, while the percentage of muscle cuts exported also increased significantly (25.8 percent, up from 23.5 percent). Through April, the percentage of total production exported was fairly steady with last year at 27.4 percent, while muscle cuts jumped from 22.8 percent to 23.5 percent.
April pork export value averaged $58.45 per head slaughtered, up 6 percent from a year ago, while the January-April average increased 5 percent to $55.69.
Mexico was again the pacesetter for pork exports in April, with volume reaching 79,019 mt – up 34 percent from a year ago and the second-largest on record. Export value to Mexico was $134.1 million, up 28 percent. Through the first four months of 2018, exports to Mexico were 7 percent above last year’s record volume pace at 282,675 mt, with value up 6 percent to $505.4 million.
Maintaining this pace will be challenging, however, with Mexico announcing retaliatory tariffs on imports of most U.S. pork products effective June 5. The tariff rate on chilled and frozen pork muscle cuts is 10 percent until July 5, when it is set to increase to 20 percent.
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