While Joe Schuele describes August as not being a huge month for pork, it was strong enough that the U.S. Meat Export Federation (MEF) announced new records for volume and value for pork exports will be achieved in 2024.
“It’s a great success story, especially on the volume side,” Schuele, U.S. MEF vice president of communications, told AgriTalk Host Chip Flory on Thursday. Flory noted pork exports are “back on track.”
During the conversation, Schuele shared highlights on the August 2024 livestock numbers and trends for U.S. pork and beef products sold around the world.
“August wasn’t a huge month for pork, but we were above this same time last year,” Schuele says. “It was a good solid month of about 6% from a year ago, and the value was about 8% just over $700 million.”
Importance Of Market Diversification
Pork’s export accomplishments are being achieved, despite lower purchasing levels from China. Schuele says the U.S. realized high-volume sales to China were likely a short-term opportunity following the country’s devastation from African swine fever a couple of years ago.
As a result, the U.S. MEF and the livestock industry in general have emphasized the importance of market diversification and worked to develop additional markets, with Mexico leading the way.
“With Mexico, you run out of superlatives when you talk about the demand for U.S. pork. August was just another tremendous month there, with exports to Mexico on a record pace,” Schuele says.
New And Unexpected Opportunities
Other key countries contributing to increased U.S. pork sales are Columbia and Malaysia. The latter is a newcomer on the scene.
“We’ve gotten some additional pork plants approved for export to Malaysia,” Schuele says. “I think a lot of people are surprised at the demand for pork in what is a predominantly Muslim country, but there is a significant pork eating population there. We had a record August in Malaysia and really good performance out of markets like Central America and the Caribbean, as well.”
Flory notes that U.S. MEF and other pork supporters have been working to develop opportunities in Central America and South America, creating traction for pork in markets there.
“What’s really exciting is we’re now moving center of the plate items there, with pork as a high-end entree. That’s what’s really made the difference in these markets,” Schuele agrees.
Dollars Going To Producers’ Bottom Lines
Flory asked Schuele how pork producers’ bottom lines are benefiting from pork this year.
Schuele said the average dollar amount per head slaughtered has been about $66 for the year.
“That’s an important metric, because it gives you an idea of what the return to the producer is at a time when pork producers need those returns from exports,” Scheule told Flory.
Mexico Provides Strong Beef Demand
Much like pork, on the beef side Mexico performed very well this year for U.S. exports.
“We’re moving a wide range of muscle cuts to Mexico, and it’s also our largest volume destination for beef variety meat items like tripe and lips and hearts and livers,” Schuele says. “Mexico is really important on the upper end and on the lower end with those variety meat items.”
He adds that the U.S. attributed the strong demand early this year in Mexico to the strong peso. In recent months, the peso has weakened, but Schuele says the country’s demand for U.S. beef, and pork as well, has held up well.
As Mexico’s retail supermarket sector has become increasingly modern and sophisticated, that has allowed for the opportunity to differentiate the quality of U.S. beef and pork from other providers.
“In that modern retail sector that really gives us a better opportunity to showcase our product,” Schuele says.
Consumer Confidence In Asia Sputters
In Asia, specifically South Korea and Japan, he notes that current beef exports haven’t been as strong as perhaps in the past.
“I would say the numbers were a little bit disappointing for August. We felt like we had some momentum in Japan that perhaps lost a little steam in August, but it wasn’t a bad month,” Schuele says.
Consumer confidence in Asia hasn’t been as strong as in the past, he notes. Consumers have not been as inclined to purchase U.S. meat products as they have been.
“We’re seeing some improvement in Japan, driven by the boom in tourism, and a little bit of improvement in Korea. In China, the consumer confidence levels really continue to be sluggish,” he says.
Schuele says the one bright spot in Asia is that the U.S. is seeing good numbers out of Taiwan, especially for high-end, chilled beef.
“Through the summer months, we saw demand from Taiwan really recover. Also, it was a good month in Southeast Asia. In some of the smaller markets, like the Philippines and Singapore, we saw numbers better numbers there in in August. So little bit of a slow month in August, but certainly some bright spots.”
Hear the complete conversation on AgriTalk here:
