A U.S. Meat Export Federation analysis of USDA statistics indicates that May was not as bad a month for U.S. pork exports as it might have been. May was the first month the H1N1 influenza would have impacted sales of pork and pork products. May pork plus pork variety meat exports totaled 143,682 metric tons valued at $342.6 million. This is down 9% in value and 9.5% in volume from April, and down a substantial 24% in value and 27% in volume compared to May 2008.
For the first five months of 2009, pork exports are down 4% in volume and 1% in value from the same period last year. While pork and pork variety meat exports to Mexico declined by about 15% from April, volume was still 18% higher than in May 2008.
Exports of U.S. beef muscle cuts plus variety meat remain on a pace roughly equal to last year, totaling 358,190 metric tons valued at $1.2 billion through May. This represents a 1% increase in volume and a 3% decline in value compared to the same period in 2008. Despite limited market access for U.S. beef, Japan has increased its imports by 21% in volume to 29,198 metric tons and 22% in value over last year. A decline in beef exports to Mexico led to a 21% decline for a total of 128,875 metric tons and a 24% drop in value to $419.1 million.
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