UNDATED - U.S. poultry meat exports for the first five months of 2012 increased by 13 percent from the same span last year, reaching 1.66 million metric tons, while export value for the period climbed 24 percent to $2.22 billion, according to trade data released recently by the Foreign Agricultural Service.
For the second consecutive month, quantity and value of poultry meat exports set year-on-year records.
Poultry exports for May reached 336,387 tons valued at $460 million, up 5 percent and 13 percent, respectively, from the May 2011. Export value for the month was the highest ever.
May exports of broiler meat (excluding chicken paws) totaled 271,883 tons, up 6 percent from May 2011. Export value reached $353.8 million, up 17 percent year over year.
For January through May, cumulative exports of broiler meat (excluding paws) rose by 13 percent to 1.33 million tons, while value reached $1.68 billion, up 28 percent from the same period in 2011, both setting year-on-year records.
Broiler meat shipments to Mexico for the period grew by 18 percent over last year to 217,062 tons, while exports to Russia increased by 138 percent to 111,333 tons. Exports to Cuba hit 64,367 tons, up 267 percent year on year, while shipments to Canada were 63,712 tons, up 19 percent.
Exports to other important markets included Angola, 62,445 tons, up 30 percent; Taiwan, 60,581 tons, up 17 percent; Hong Kong, 59,279 tons, down 34 percent; Iraq, 53,558 tons, down 11 percent; Kazakhstan, 43,504 tons, up almost eight-fold year on year; and China, 34,108 tons, up 64 percent.
Exports of U.S. chicken paws in May were 32,319 tons valued at $44.2 million, up 9 and 2 percent compared to May 2011. Cumulative paw exports for the first five months reached 163,518 tons, up 20 percent year on year. Export value set a year-year-year record at $219.8 million, up 9 percent.
Of total paw shipments, 81 percent were shipped to Hong Kong, and 17 percent were shipped to mainland China.
Total January-May broiler exports (including paws) this year set year-on-year records in both volume and value, with an export quantity of 1.5 million tons valued at $1.9 billion, up 14 percent and 26 percent, respectively.
Of the total, 43 percent was shipped to the top five markets – Mexico, Hong Kong, Russia, Cuba, and Canada.
May exports of U.S. turkey meat declined to 27,989 tons, down 5 percent from the same month in 2011. Even so, export value set a record for the month of May at $52.3 million, up 4 percent from May 2011.
Cumulative January-May turkey exports reached 139,183 tons, up 11 percent, with a value of $267.6 million, an increase of 23 percent from the same period in 2011. Both quantity and export value set year-on-year records.
Exports to Mexico, the top market for U.S. turkey, were 75,956 tons valued at $156.7 million, up 6 percent and 14 percent, respectively. Shipments to China, the second most important market for U.S. turkey, dropped by 20 percent to 14,931 tons, while export value reached $24.4 million, up 21 percent.
Five markets accounted for 79 percent of total U.S. turkey meat exports – Mexico, China, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Canada, with Mexico alone accounting for 55 percent.
For table eggs, export quantity for May 2012 was 10.2 million dozen valued at $8.6 million, up 21.7 and 5.6 percent, respectively, thanks largely to increased shipments to Hong Kong and the U.A.E.
January-May table egg exports reached 39.7 million dozen valued at $35.6 million, up 28 percent and 26 percent year on year, respectively. The top five markets of Hong Kong, Canada, the U.A.E., the Bahamas, and Netherlands Antilles accounted for 81 percent of total exports.
For processed egg products, May exports were $12.6 million, up 4 percent from May 2011. While export value to Japan, which is normally the top market for U.S. processed eggs, decreased by 43 percent to $3.9 million, exports to the European Union increased by 116 percent to $4.6 million, largely a factor of the shortage of breaking stock in the EU.
The cumulative value of egg products exports for January through May were $59.1 million, up 19 percent. Exports to the EU increased by141 percent to $23 million, accounting for 39 percent of U.S. total exports, while shipments to Japan decreased by 27 percent to $18.1 million, accounting for 31 percent of the total.
Total egg exports (table eggs plus egg products in shell egg equivalents) for the first five months of this year were 99.3 million dozen, up 6 percent from the same period of last year, while export value hit $94.7 million, up 22 percent year over year. Both export quantity and export value set year-on-year records.
