Mexico is becoming more prominent as an export market for U.S. pork, says the monthly Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook. One-third of U.S. export tonnage during July – the most recent data available for the report – went to Mexico. It was the 13th time out of the 20 months since November 2013 that Mexico was the leader in volume of purchases, displacing Japan, the usual leader. “It is notable that despite gains in volume, Mexico lags Japan by a wide margin in terms of unit values,” says the USDA. Pork headed for Mexico was valued at 71 cents a pound while pork for Japan was worth $1.33 per pound.
“The large disparity is likely due in part to between-country disparities and differences in tastes and preferences, as well as the structure of the Japanese pork import regime,” said the USDA. Japan sets a minimum price for pork imports – “typically, well above U.S. pork prices” – to protect domestic producers.
Despite a drop in the value of the peso, Mexico is importing more U.S. pork. The upturn in pork shipments “could be substituting” for the lower volume of high-priced U.S. beef and a slowdown in poultry sales, said the USDA. It forecasts a 7.8 percent increase in pork exports during July, August and September of this year, compared to the same period in 2014. Exports are expected to accelerate through the end of the year, reflecting the usual high point for production.