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February pork exports totaled 241,179 metric tons (mt), down 4% from the large year-ago volume, while value fell 2% to $671.5 million. For the first two months of 2025, pork exports were 3% below last year’s record pace at 485,144 mt, with value down 2% to $1.34 billion.
Although February pork exports to leading market Mexico saw a slight year-over-year decline in volume (93,178 mt, down 1%), value still climbed 7% to $202.6 million – the eighth consecutive month in which shipments to Mexico have topped $200 million.
Demand for U.S. pork in Central America continues to soar, with February exports up 16% from a year ago to 14,164 mt, while value climbed 18% to $43.3 million. February shipments to Guatemala were the second largest on record at 3,974 mt.
February pork exports to China/Hong Kong were 5% higher than a year ago at 38,492 mt, while value was up 8% to $93.1 million. Through February, pork exports to China/Hong Kong were also 5% above last year at 76,088 mt, valued at $185.5 million (up 9%). About two-thirds of the export volume to this region is pork variety meat, although those shipments fell 5% through February to just under 50,000 mt. Eligibility for export to China was recently renewed for a large number of U.S. pork plants, removing a potential obstacle. However, an additional 10% retaliatory duty on U.S. pork entering China has been in place since March 10. This increased China’s effective tariff rate on U.S. pork to 47%, while most competitors’ products are tariffed at 12%. Effective April 10, China’s total tariff rate on U.S. pork and pork variety meat is set to increase to 81%.
Pork exports to South Korea were robust during the first half of 2024 but lost momentum later in the year. This trend continued into 2025, with exports through February falling 18% from a year ago to 34,332 mt, with value down 20% to $109.3 million.
Similar to Korea, pork exports to Japan are off to a slow start in 2025. Shipments through February were 19% below last year’s pace in both volume (45,680 mt) and value ($185.7 million).
April 4, 2025/ USMEF/ United States.
https://www.usmef.org
