The USDA is predicting 2007 pork exports to set another record at 3.34 billion pounds.
This represents an 11.4% increase over 2006 and the fourth consecutive year of double digit growth in U.S. pork exports. If realized, it would make the U.S. the largest exporter of pork in the world for the first time surpassing the EU, Canada and Brazil which have seen little to no export growth. The U.S. pork industry has almost doubled the amount of product exported in the last 5 years.
Dr. Steve Meyers, Paragon Economics, credits high quality, low feed costs and a comparatively weak U.S. dollar for the export success. He notes that Japan remains the largest export market for U.S. pork followed by Mexico, Canada, South Korea, Russia, China/Hong Kong, and Taiwan in terms of volume. Since 1989, U.S. pork shipments to Japan have grown an average of 13.7% per year and the value of those exports have grown by an average of 11% per year.
As an example of the impact of recent trade agreements, exports to Mexico have increased dramatically since the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994 which eliminated tariffs in 2000. Exports to Mexico have risen from approximately 25,000 metric tonnes in 1995 to almost 250,000 in 2006. The U.S. recently announced a trade agreement with South Korea, already the fastest growing market for U.S. pork in recent years, which will likewise lower tariffs. Shipments there have increased by over 550% over the past five years, including increases of 171% and 55% the past two years.
Source:
Daily Livestock Report, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, April 13 & 16, 2007