Pork Highlights
april 2021:

Pork: 224,179 mt, +3% and the sixth highest monthly volume on record, $642 million, +10% and the fifth highest monthly value
PVM: 45,739 mt, -0.1%, $108 million, +6.5% and the third highest
Pork + PVM: 269,918 mt, +2% and the sixth highest, $749 million, +10% and the fourth highest

january – april 2021:

Pork: 883,599 mt, -5%, $2.430 billion, -4%
PVM: 168,939 mt, -4%, $386 million, +0%
Pork and PVM: 1.053 million mt, -5%, $2.816 billion, -3%

April pork muscle cut exports totaled 218,260 mt, the sixth highest monthly volume and up 3% or +5,900 mt from last year. April exports were higher year-over-year to Mexico (+20,600 mt), the ASEAN (+10,600 mt), Central America (+3,800 mt), Canada (+3,700 mt), Korea (+1,500 mt), Caribbean + DR (+1,500 mt), and South America (+1,100 mt). Exports were steady to the EU27 + UK, but exports were lower year-over-year to China/HK (-29,200 mt), Japan (-6,200 mt), Taiwan (-820 mt), Australia/NZ (-250 mt), surrounding Russia region (-190 mt), and Africa (-50 mt). Exports to Mexico (57,094 mt, +56%) were the highest since December and were up 56% from last April and up 30% from April 2019. Combined exports to China/HK totaled 53,936 mt, down 35% from last year, with lower exports to China (52,659 mt, -35%) and Hong Kong (1,287 mt, -35%). Exports to Japan (32,599 mt, -16%) slowed from the large March total of over 40,000 mt (which was the highest since 2015). Exports to Canada (16,476 mt, +29%) were up from last year but were down 5% from April 2019. Apart from this March, exports to Korea (15,840 mt, +11%) were the highest since last March. Exports to the Philippines (12,472 mt, +614%) surpassed the previous record in March of 11,736 mt, but exports were lower year-over-year to Vietnam (784 mt, -8%) and Singapore (562 mt, -2%). Exports to Colombia (6,841 mt, +44%) were higher year-over-year but were down 34% from April 2019’s large total of over 10,000 mt. Exports to Chile (2,867 mt, -16%) were the highest since December but remained lower year-over-year. Exports to Australia (6,176 mt, -9%) slowed from the Jan-March pace of over 7,000 mt, but exports to New Zealand (1,176 mt, +38%) maintained momentum and were the fifth highest on record. Exports to Central America continued on a record pace. April exports to the Dominican Republic (4,494 mt, +43%) slowed from Jan – March (exports were record high at 6,345 mt in March) but remained significantly higher than recent years. Exports were also higher to Honduras (3,484 mt, +38%), Guatemala (2,018 mt, +86% and the fourth highest monthly volume after Jan – March of this year), Costa Rica (1,581 mt, +264% and record large for fourth consecutive month), El Salvador (1,335 mt, +121% and the second highest monthly volume after March), and Panama (1,011 mt, +14%), while exports slowed to Nicaragua (736 mt, -10%). Exports to Taiwan (482 mt, -63%) were the highest since January but remained limited. April exports to the Bahamas (400 mt, +20%) were the highest since January, while exports to Trinidad and Tobago (286 mt, -18%) were the lowest since January.

April pork variety meat exports totaled 45,739 mt, down 50 mt or -0.1% from last year, but pork variety meat exports were the highest since last April apart from March of this year (47,064 mt). Exports were higher year-over-year to Mexico (+4,000 mt), the ASEAN (+960 mt), Australia/NZ (+270 mt), Central America (+120 mt), South America (+110 mt), Caribbean + DR (+50 mt), and Korea (+10 mt), while exports were lower to China/HK (-5,500 mt), Canada (-170 mt), Japan (-130 mt), and Taiwan (-30 mt). Combined pork and variety meat exports to China/HK totaled 28,346 mt in April, down 16% year-over-year. Exports to China (28,315 mt, -9%) were lower year-over-year but were the highest since last April apart from this March. Exports to Hong Kong (31 mt, -99%) slowed dramatically.

American Pork & Variety Meat Export Value in April 2021

American Pork & Variety Meat Export Volume in April 2021

Exports to Mexico (10,217 mt, +65%) were down from 10,835 mt in March but were otherwise the highest since October. Exports to the Philippines (1,824 mt, +216%) slowed from the large March total of 2,109 mt but were otherwise the highest since October and were up 22% from April 2019. Exports to Vietnam (128 mt, -68%) were lower year-over-year for the 8th month. Exports to Canada (1,222 mt, -12%) were the highest since January but were down 12% from last April and down 24% from April 2019. Exports to Korea (802 mt, +2%) slowed from 890 in March but were otherwise the highest since March 2020. Exports to Japan (349 mt, -26%) rebounded from March’s low level but remained lower year-over-year. Exports to Chile (553 mt, +22%) were up 22% year-over-year and up 6% from 2019 (but volumes remained slower than the 1,065 mt – 2,580 mt range shipped between September 2020 and January 2021). Exports to Colombia (225 mt, +27%) were also higher. Exports to Taiwan (352 mt, -7%) were the highest since last May. Exports were lower to Guatemala (310 mt, -16%), but exports to Honduras (202 mt, +274%) were the highest since 2013.

January – April pork and variety meat exports totaled 1.053 million mt, down 5% or -49,600 mt from last year. Exports were higher to the ASEAN (+25,700 mt), Mexico (+16,300 mt), Central America (+15,500 mt), Caribbean + DR (+6,300 mt), and the EU 27 + UK (+170 mt), while exports were lower to China/HK (-94,700 mt), Australia/NZ (+5,500 mt), Japan (-5,000 mt), Korea (-3,000 mt), Taiwan (-2,400 mt), South America (-1,500 mt), Africa (-270 mt), surrounding Russia region (-260 mt), and Canada (-230 mt).

April pork exports accounted for 28.6% of pork production and 32.0% when including variety meats as compared to 32.2% and 36.2% for April 2020 (when production dropped 11% from the previous year). January – April pork exports accounted for 27.4% of production and 30.4% when including variety meats, compared to 29.3% and 32.4% for January – April 2020.

April 2021 pork export value per head averaged $69.22/head, down $3.33/head or -5% from $72.55/head in April 2020. January – April 2021 pork export value per head averaged $63.66/head, down $2.70/head or -4% from $66.36/head for January – April 2020.

SOURCE: USMEF