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Variety cuts add value to meat exports

2016 has been a tough year for livestock producers and Joe Schuele with the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF) says producers finally got some news they needed.

He tells Brownfield after building export momentum during the summer months’ – exports for US beef and pork reach year highs in August.  “Producers right now – I think they can take heart in the fact that exports are on an upward trend,” he says.

Schuele says strong exports are a driver for carcass value.  Muscle cuts accounted for about 10 percent of beef exports and 20 percent for pork.

He says variety meat exports are what gave August totals a strong boost.  “A lot of those products – if they were not exported would really weigh heavily on the domestic market,” he says.  “You’d have a lot of end cuts and a lot of variety meats in the domestic market that would demand the price that they do overseas.”

He tells Brownfield China has continued to be a strong market for pork – but there was also an uptick in other countries.  “Markets like Mexico and Japan and even in Korea where we’re down for the year but we think we’re finished to position the year very strong,” he says.  “I think the diversity of good results was really encouraging on the pork side.”

Schuele says USMEF remains optimistic that exports will maintain positive momentum through the end of the year.

AUDIO: Joe Schuele, USMEF