IARN — U.S. beef and pork exports trended lower in May, due in large part to temporary interruptions in slaughter and processing stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Dan Halstrom – President and CEO of the U.S. Meat Export Federation – beef exports dropped well below year-ago levels and recorded the lowest monthly volume in 10 years. Pork exports remained higher than a year ago but were the lowest since October 2019.
“The May 2020 export results for beef and pork confirmed expectations that we would see some impact from supply chain disruptions due to COVID-19 absenteeism in late April and May,” Halstrom said. “Results showed that the beef export side was down significantly, down 33 percent versus a year ago. Pork export sales results also showed an impact with the lowest level since October 2019, although, we did show growth of about 12 percent year on year for the month of May.”
Halstrom says red meat production has rebounded significantly in recent weeks, and he expects beef and pork exports to regain momentum in the second half of 2020. This is especially true in Asian destinations that are further along in easing COVID-19 related restrictions, while demand in Western Hemisphere markets may take longer to rebound.
“If you look forward for the rest of 2020, we do have some reservations on demand in a couple of key areas,” Halstrom said. “One being Mexico and in Latin America, Central and South America. That region is still in the depths of lockdown due to COVID-19. While we do expect a rebound, it’s probably going to be the last half of 2020.”
“With that being said,” he added, “our forecast remains optimistic on both beef and pork, especially considering our supply chain. Here we are in early July and the supply chain is back to 95-plus percent of normal on both the beef and pork side.”
For January through May, beef exports fell three percent below last year’s pace in volume (512,596 mt) and five percent lower in value ($3.14 billion). For that same period, pork exports were 30 percent ahead of last year’s pace in volume (1.35 million mt) and 37 percent higher in value ($3.53 billion).
A full summary of the January-May export results is available from the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) website.
