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USMEF: April pork exports below year-ago

Pork

Due in part to a sharp decline in shipments to China, April exports of U.S. pork trended lower than a year ago, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). China’s retaliatory duties are a major headwind for U.S. pork.

Posted on Jun 12 ,00:30

Pork exports totaled 237,250 mt in April, down 15% from a year ago and the lowest in 10 months. Export value fell 13% to $675.3 million. Exports to China, which are mainly pork variety meats, declined 35% from a year ago. Shipments were also lower year-over-year to leading market Mexico and to Japan and Canada. But April was another outstanding month for pork exports to Colombia and Central America, which are both on a record pace.

For January through April, pork exports were 5% below last year’s record pace at 991,738 mt, while value fell 4% to $2.78 billion.

"China has been renewing registrations for U.S. pork establishments, but retaliatory duties remain a significant barrier", said USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom. "Exports to Mexico cooled in April but keep in mind that the year-over-year comparison is with a record performance in April 2024. Year-to-date shipments to Mexico are fairly steady with last year’s record pace and demand elsewhere in Latin America is also very robust".

China’s total duties on U.S. pork and pork variety meats peaked in April at 172%. The rate was lowered to 57% on May 14. (As with beef, product that shipped prior to April 10 and arrived by May 13 was allowed to clear without the additional 125%.)

April pork exports slow to Mexico and China, trend higher to Colombia, Central America

Pork exports to leading market Mexico totaled 91,441 mt in April, down 15% from the record volume posted a year ago, while value ($197.8 million) was down 18% from the April 2024 record. This broke a remarkable stretch of nine consecutive months in which exports to Mexico topped $200 million in value. For January through April, exports to Mexico were slightly below last year’s record pace at 385,844 mt (down 1%), while value was still 2% higher at $835.6 million. Exports to Mexico averaged 10.7% of U.S. muscle cut production through April, up slightly from the same period last year.

Colombia’s demand for U.S. pork remained red-hot in April, with shipments totaling 12,079 mt – up 58% from a year ago. Export value soared 68% to $34.7 million. Through April, exports to Colombia were 14% above last year’s record pace at 45,343 mt, while value climbed 20% to $130.7 million. While most pork exports to Colombia are muscle cuts, USMEF has heightened promotions of pork variety meat during the trade impasse with China. Variety meat shipments to Colombia more than doubled year-over-year in April, reaching 1,140 mt (up 107%) valued at $3.5 million (up 169%). Frozen pork feet accounted for about one-fifth of this total.

Fueled by larger shipments to Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Panama, April pork exports to Central America totaled 15,644 mt, up 6% from a year ago, valued at $49.4 million (up 12%). Central America also took more pork variety meats in April, with volume (1,246 mt)  up 9% from last year’s large total. For January through April, pork and pork variety meat exports to the region were 16% above last year’s record pace at 60,811 mt, with value up 20% to $191.1 million. Growth is broad-based, as exports to Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Nicaragua were all on a record pace through April.

Other January-April results for U.S. pork exports include:

• As noted above, pork exports to China fell sharply in April due to prohibitive retaliatory duties. Exports totaled 26,365 mt, down 35% from a year ago, while value fell 32% to $64.9 million. January-April shipments to China were down 7% in volume (141,584 mt) and 4% lower in value ($342.3 million). While China’s retaliatory duties were lowered on May 14, the total duty rate on U.S. pork cuts and most pork variety meat is still 57%, while most of China’s imports are tariffed at the most-favored-nation rate of 12%.
• While below last year’s large total, pork exports to Korea remained relatively strong at 23,954 mt – down 9% from a year ago but up slightly from the strong performance in March. Export value was $79.2 million, down 11% year-over-year but up nearly $2 million from March. Through April, exports to Korea were 14% below last year’s pace at 82,168 mt, valued at $265.8 million (down 15%).
• Pork exports to Australia trended higher in April, increasing 4% from a year ago to 8,205 mt, while value climbed 13% to $29.7 million. January-April exports to Australia were fairly steady with last year’s robust pace, down 1% in volume (33,049 mt) but 1% higher in value ($118.7 million).
• April pork exports to Japan totaled 30,015 mt, down 13% from a year ago, while value declined 15% to $118.4 million. January-April shipments to Japan were down 14% in volume (105,858 mt) and 15% lower in value ($423.2 million).
• Canada’s demand for U.S. pork slowed significantly in April, down 45% from a year ago to 8,282 mt. Export value was $33.9 million, down 41%. These results pushed January-April shipments to Canada 16% below last year’s pace at 58,344 mt, while value fell 14% to $235.1 million. Since March 4, Canada has imposed a 25% retaliatory duty on U.S. sausages. However, the decline has been mostly driven by other product categories as Canada’s imports of U.S. sausages were down only slightly through April. It is also worth noting that Canada’s exports of pork to the U.S. were down 9% in the first four months of the year, but Canada is exporting significantly larger volumes to Japan (up 21%), China (up 9%), Mexico (up 17%), Korea (up 29%) and Taiwan (up 38%).
• April pork exports equated to $62.50 per head slaughtered, down 14% from the very high average in April 2024. For January through April, the per-head average was down 2% to $64.98 per head. Exports accounted for 28.1% of total April pork production and 25.2% for muscle cuts only, down significantly from the respective year-ago ratios of 33.3% and 28.8%. For January through April, exports equated to 29.6% of total production and 26% for muscle cuts, down from 30.7% and 26.5%, respectively, a year ago.

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