U.S. pork and beef exports broke the $5 billion level for the first three quarters of the year according to statistics released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). This followed a September that was another strong month for red meat export value.

Pork export value was up 7% in September to $513 million, despite a 3% decline in volume (162,125 metric tons [mt]). Exports through the first nine months of the year maintained a record pace in both volume (1.64 million mt) and value ($5.05 billion), increases of 5% and 14%, respectively, from a year ago.

Pork export value per head slaughtered was $58.10 in September (+10% from a year ago) and $64.48 for January through September (+20%). Exports accounted for 27% of total pork production and 23% for muscle cuts only – up from 26% and 22%, respectively, during the first nine months of 2013.

Mexico, which is the leading volume destination for U.S. pork, continued to perform well in September – with exports totaling 58,929 mt (+17%) valued at $138.4 million (+35%). For the first nine months of the year, exports to Mexico maintained a record pace of 503,614 mt (+13%) valued at $1.16 billion (+36%).

Other January-September pork export highlights include:

Complete January-September export totals for U.S. beef, pork and lamb are available from USMEF’s statistics webpage.