November Monthly Pork Exports Ringing the Record Bell

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. pork exports posted the best month on record in November, easily reaching new highs in both volume and value, according to data released by USDA. November exports of U.S. beef, however, were below the previous year’s large totals. Pork exports surged to 260 thousand metric tons (mt) in November, up 26 percent year-over-year and 11 percent above the previous high set in July 2019. Export value was $713 million, up 32 percent from a year ago and breaking the previous record (also from July 2019) by 14 percent. These results pushed January-November exports 7 percent above the previous year’s pace in volume (2.39 million mt) and 6 percent higher in value ($6.19 billion). Pork exports are now on pace to exceed previous records for both volume (2.45 million mt in 2017) and value ($6.65 billion in 2014). Pork export value per head slaughtered was $62.90 in November, the highest in five years. Through the first 11 months of 2019, per-head value averaged $52.24, a 2 percent year-over-year increase.