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The inability of the United States to ship beef and pork to Russia continues to put a damper on U.S. red meat exports this year.
May pork exports increased 3.5 percent in volume over last year’s totals if Russia is excluded. For January through May 2013, export volume would be down 5.8 percent instead of 9 percent if Russia is not included. An oversupply of domestic pork in many major export markets continues to pose a challenge to U.S. exports.
Total pork exports in May improved over 2013 trends but still dipped 3.3 percent to 180,637 metric tons valued at $505.4 million, a 3.6 percent decline from last year. They accounted for 23 percent of muscle cut production and 26.4 percent of muscle cuts plus variety meat, similar to last May.
For the first five months of the year, exports were down 9 percent to 882,905 metric tons valued at $2.47 billion, down 8 percent.
The value of pork exports in May equated to $54.85 per head of fed slaughter, down from $56.47 last year. The year-to-date export value averaged $53.14 per head, down from $58.36 last year.
Monday July 8, 2013/ USMEF/ United States.
http://www.usmef.org
