Some 16 percent of U.S. beef, pork, broiler chicken and turkey meat will be exported this year, an upturn from 2015, forecasts USDA, with poultry showing the largest gains. Poultry exports fell last year as a result of trade constraints due to the bird flu epidemic.
The monthly Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook says 16.4 percent of broiler production, a gain of 0.6 percentage points, and 10.9 percent of turkey meat, an increase of 1.4 percentage points, will be shipped to foreign buyers this year. Some 10.1 percent of beef and 20.4 percent of pork would be exported.
Despite the overall increase in meat exports from 15 percent in 2015, shipments would be lower than the five-year average of 17 percent. Only beef would be on par with the 2010-14 average. The other meats would be roughly 2 points below average. Poultry accounts for half of U.S. meat exports, or 7.5 billion pounds of this year’s estimated 15.1 billion pounds