U.S. pork exports in May exceeded year-ago levels by a considerable margin and kept year-to-date results on a very strong pace, according to statistics released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation.
Pork exports totaled 181,469 metric tons valued at $481.2 million, an 11 percent jump in volume and 15 percent in value over May 2010 levels. Volume was steady with the April 2011 results, while value declined by about 1 percent. Year-to-date through May, pork exports were up 16 percent in volume or 916,763 metric tons and 22 percent in value or $2.35 billion over 2010, and results were 11 percent higher in volume and 26 percent higher in value than the all-time record pace set in 2008. Exports equated to 28.7 percent of total U.S. production with a per-head value of $56.81 compared to 27.9 percent and $53.10 per head in May 2010.
Source: National Pork Board