The latest report from U.S. Meat Export Federation shows U.S pork exports were down slightly in February compared to the large numbers posted in 2024.
About 241,000 metric tons were exported in February, down about 4% with value down about 2% at $671 million, the report says.
Despite the slight decrease, there is tremendous demand for U.S. pork in Mexico and Central America, where the U.S. industry continues to move a wider range of center-of-the-plate cuts to a variety of end users, says USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom.
“And I can’t stress enough the continued demand from Latin America, it just continues to amaze,” Halstrom adds. “Other markets that did well for the month of February, the ASEAN region continues to perform, especially the Philippines, Cuba and New Zealand, on the boneless pork side, were good as well.”
Exports soared to Central America in February and export value to Mexico exceeded $200 million for the eighth consecutive month. Shipments also increased to the Philippines, New Zealand and Cuba, but were significantly lower to Japan and South Korea. For the first two months of 2025, pork exports were 3% below last year’s record pace at 485,144 mt, with value down 2% to $1.34 billion, according to USMEF.
An area of concern for U.S. red meat exports in February and March of this year were the renewals of processing plants by China’s General Administration of Customs (GACC). Pork and poultry plants were renewed on the March 16 expiration date, but GACC still has not renewed the eligibility of any U.S. beef establishments, and the majority of U.S. beef production is now ineligible for China.
China announced additional retaliatory duties of 34%, to take effect April 10, which could create further obstacles for U.S. pork and beef exports to the country. New U.S. tariffs have also created uncertainty for buyers of U.S. red meat in other destinations where retaliation could impact market access and prices.
“Obviously this is a real concern for USMEF and our industry and our members around the possible retaliation from trading partners,” Halstrom says. “It is our hope that this will not happen, that things can get worked out in a relatively short order. But in the meantime, what we need to do, we USMEF and the industry, we need to keep our eye on the ball and continue to market U.S. beef and pork globally.”
Full details on the February export results are available on the USMEF website.
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