July pork exports up 5%, beef exports down 18%

Sep 08, 2023

July was quite an eventful month for our meat industry. Pork was the star, but beef? Well, it had its ups and downs.

Let’s talk about numbers. Data from the bigwigs, USDA and USMEF, paints an exciting picture for pork. July exports rose by 5%, touching 219,014 metric tons. And the cherry on top - The value increased by 1%, hitting $628.7 million. Major applause to our friends in Mexico, Central America, and Canada, who were the star consumers. If we look at the January-July period, we've already beaten last year's numbers by 13% in pork exports.

Beef, on the other hand, had a tough time in July. Exports dropped by a significant 18%, making it the weakest month in half a year. This slump amounted to 103,167 metric tons with a value of just over $810 million. The decline in pork exports is due to lower demand from key Asian markets. Even in the darkest of times, there is always hope. Places like Taiwan and Mexico have kept the flame alive for US beef.

And a quick word on lamb. After a couple of slow months, it made a comeback in July, rising by 22% from last year. Great news for lamb lovers!

July was a mixed bag for the meat industry. Pork is riding high, beef is hoping for better days, and lamb, It’s back in the game.

Source : wisconsinagconnection

Video: Porcine Gut Models in Nutrition Research - Dr. Li-Hsuan Chen

In this episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Li-Hsuan Chen, postdoc researcher at Aarhus University, discusses how porcine intestinal cell lines and organoids can help study the impact of nutrition on gut health. He explains how in vivo piglet trials identify diet-driven shifts in microbiota and metabolites, while in vitro models allow researchers to test specific metabolites, barrier function, immune markers, and future organ-on-chip systems before moving back to animal studies. Listen now on all major platforms!

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Meet the guest: Dr. Li-Hsuan Chen / li-hsuan-chen-9a95a7279 is a postdoc researcher at Aarhus University in Denmark. Research focuses on porcine gut health, host-microbe interactions, cell lines, and organoids, with PhD work at Aarhus University studying how dietary protein and amino acid levels shape gut microbiota, microbial metabolites, and intestinal epithelial responses. Learn more from Dr. Li-Hsuan Chen on The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, available on all major platforms.