USMEF: November exports achieve highs

From the U.S. Meat Export Federation:

November exports of U.S. pork and beef reached their highest monthly volumes in more than two years, according to results compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).

Pork exports totaled 177,203 metric tons valued at $443.4 million - increases of 5 percent in volume and 15 percent in value over November 2009. For January through November, exports were up 2 percent in volume (1.73 million metric tons) and 10 percent in value ($4.34 billion). The cumulative value total is just 4 percent below the all-time record pace set in the first 11 months of 2008. For the year, exports accounted for 23.6 percent of production with a per-head value equivalent of $43.61 ($44.80 in November alone). For the same period in 2009, exports equated to 22.5 percent of production with a per-head value of $38.42. In the record export year of 2008, the per-head value was $42.30.

Beef export value in November was $389.5 million, an increase of nearly 50 percent over November 2009. By volume (101,323 metric tons), beef exports exceeded the year-ago level by 32 percent. For the first 11 months of 2010, exports were 18 percent above 2009 in terms of volume (964,369 metric tons) and 30 percent higher by value ($3.67 billion). The value total is about 1 percent ahead of the 2003 pace when beef exports went on to set a single-year record of $3.86 billion. Exports accounted for 11.6 percent of production with a per-head value equivalent of $150.36 ($178. 20 in November) - up dramatically from the 2009 totals of 9.8 percent and $117.80.

"November was clearly one of the best months on record for U.S. meat exports," said USMEF President and CEO Philip Seng. "With economies improving throughout the world, U.S. pork and beef are well-positioned for strong growth. We worked through some very difficult economic circumstances in 2009, but we're now seeing those persistent marketing efforts pay big dividends as exports are adding more and more value to every animal produced."

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