US Beef Exports Hit Record in June While Pork Shipments Slipped

The U.S. exported a record 272.6 million lbs. of beef in June, just slightly behind the all-time high for any month of 272.8 million lbs. in May. Beef exports surged 36.8 million lbs. (15.6%) from year-earlier levels. During the first half of the 2018 calendar year, the U.S. exported 1.529 billion lbs. of beef, up 196.3 million lbs. (14.7%) from last year.Pork exports totaled 454.3 million lbs. in June, which was the second highest on record for the month behind 2008’s 461.3 million lbs. and up 6.0 million lbs. (1.3%) from last year. But pork shipments declined 61.4 million lbs. (11.9%) from May, as exports dropped 25.0 million lbs. (15.5%) to Mexico (the top market) and 17.1 million lbs. (25.3%) to South Korea (the third largest market) from the previous month.The decline in pork exports from May to June is seasonal, but it’s still attention-getting when two of the top three export markets drop that significantly. Plus, shipments to Japan (the No. 2 market) were also down month-over-month, just not as significantly.Pork sales to foreign markets totaled 3.034 billion lbs. during the first half of the year, up 17.6 million lbs. (6.2%) from last year’s record pace.