Inside Pigs
US pig export flourishes thanks to Mexico
U.S. pork exports continue to dominate. In August, about 225.000 tons of meat were exported. This is a record export volume for this month specifically. Mexico is a major buyer, China does purchase significantly less volume.
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On balance, US pork exports rose by almost 4% in August. The increase is mainly due to the large purchase volumes by neighboring country Mexico, which imported around 80.000 tonnes compared to 54.000 tonnes a year earlier. So far this year, exports to Mexico have already increased by 25% to 543.000 tons. The underlying value even increased by 56% to approximately $1 billion. The Mexican demand explosion appears to be a consequence of the arrival of President Joe Biden. There was tense trade relations under former President Donald Trump, which also affected pork exports.
Decrease in China, increase in Japan and South Korea
China (and Hong Kong) are still the largest sales market with an import volume of 573.000 tons, but the volume has already shrunk by 22% this year. The underlying fell 21% to $1,3 billion. European exporters are also clearly noticing the Chinese demand drop, but unlike the US, they cannot compensate for these losses.
Japan is also importing considerably more American pork this year. In the first 8 months, exports increased by 7% to 271.000 tons. This increase is important, given that Japan is an important market in terms of added value. Exports to South Korea increased by 6% to just under 120.000 tons in the same period.
On balance, exports increased by 1% this year to 2 million tons. The underlying value rose 10% to $5,6 billion. This increase is a result of the increased pork prices in the US and, by extension, the high meat prices.