USMEF: Market Diversification The Key

March was a good month for American meat exports. According to the U.S. Meat Export Federation, beef and pork exports totaled just under $1.6 billion. When breaking down the numbers, beef exports set a single month record, with more than $800 million sent overseas in March of this year. Dan Halstrom, President and CEO of the USMEF, says American beef producers benefited from a diverse list of market destinations.

“Korea was one of our leaders, we were up 7% there.  And of course the real story incrementally is really China on the beef side.  14,500 tons, compared to about 500 tons a year ago.  The supply chain on the live animal is expanding and demand for high quality grain fed beef, we’re seeing expand on the demand side as well.”

Halstrom added Latin America, including Mexico  is rebounding, which will result in good things for beef producers into the future. Meanwhile, when it comes to pork producers, Halstrom noted exports were led by not only China, but Japan, the Philippines as well as SE Asia.

Click Here for a complete breakdown of exports, variety by variety.

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