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Pork exports shine - Beef aims for recovery

By Jean-Paul MacDonald
Farms.com

The US pork industry celebrates an excellent start to 2023. As per USMEF data, June pork exports rose by 12%, equating to 245,964 metric tons (mt). This surge brought the six-month total to a robust 1.47 million mt, with a value of $4.05 billion.

Mexico showed an exciting 21% growth in first-half value, setting a record. There were also notable increases in exports to regions like Australia, Taiwan, and the Dominican Republic. An outstanding 32% jump was seen in pork variety meat exports to China.

Dan Halstrom, USMEF's head, praised the widespread international growth, highlighting strides in the Asia-Pacific and Western Hemisphere.

The beef sector faced some hurdles. June exports came to 115,107 mt, showing a 12% dip from last year. The value, however, marked at $909.5 million, held potential. The first half's performance was 10% below the previous year but 8% above 2021.

Countries like Taiwan, Mexico, and Canada provided hopeful statistics. Some markets, such as South Korea, China, and Japan, did experience a drop, but potential remains.

Halstrom emphasized the steady contribution of beef exports to total production, underlining their significance in overall value. In contrast, lamb exports saw a downturn, especially in the second quarter. June figures displayed a 56% decrease in volume and a 45% drop in value.


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Leman Swine Conference: Vaccination strategies to reduce PRRS virus recombination

Video: Leman Swine Conference: Vaccination strategies to reduce PRRS virus recombination

Dr. Jay Calvert, Research Director with Zoetis, recently spoke to The Pig Site’s Sarah Mikesell at the 2023 Leman Swine Conference in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA, about his conference presentation on porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus recombination.

“The number one problem in PRRS these days from a vaccine point of view is the emergence of new strains of PRRS. Since the beginning, we have had new strains and a lot of diversity,” said Dr. Jay Calvert. “We thought we knew it was all about mutation changes in amino acids and the individual strains over time, but they take on new characteristics.”

With the onset of more common whole genome sequencing and recombination analysis, Dr. Calvert says there is another mechanism, and recombination seems to be a key factor.