October Pork Exports Largest Since March; Encouraging Rebound for Beef

Hear/Download the Audio Report HERE.

U.S. pork exports continued to build momentum in October, led by a record performance in leading market Mexico, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). While beef exports remained lower year-over-year, shipments rebounded to some degree in October, posting the largest totals since June. USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom details some of the key markets driving both beef and pork exports in this audio report.

Pork exports totaled 264,657 metric tons (mt) in October, up 5% from a year ago, valued at $762.1 million (up 7%). Both volume and value were the largest since March, led by substantial growth in Mexico and year-over-year increases to Central America, Canada, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines. In addition to Mexico, October shipments were also record-large to Honduras and Guatemala.

January-October pork exports reached 2.43 million mt, just 2% below the record pace of 2024. Export value was also down 2% to $6.93 billion. The year-over-year difference is mostly due to a 20% decline in exports to China (which are mainly variety meats), where U.S. pork is subject to burdensome retaliatory duties.

Beef exports totaled 93,448 mt in October, down 11% year-over-year but the largest since June and 16% above the low volume posted in September. Export value was also the highest since June at $759.5 million, down 12% from a year ago but 15% above September. October beef exports increased year-over-year to Japan, Taiwan, Canada, the ASEAN region and the Dominican Republic, while also jumping sharply to Colombia. But these gains were more than offset by lack of access to China, which has reduced exports to minimal volumes for the past several months. For markets other than China, October beef exports were up 5% year-over-year in volume and up 7% in value.

January-October beef exports totaled 949,471 mt, down 11% from the 2024 pace, while value was down 10% to $7.79 billion. When excluding China from these results, exports were down 3% in volume and just 1% in value compared to the first 10 months of 2024.

A detailed summary of the January-October export results for U.S. pork, beef and lamb, including market-specific highlights, is available from the USMEF website.

TRANSCRIPT