First half 2012 US poultry, egg exports set records

Led by sharp increases in shipments to Mexico, Russia, and other key markets, US poultry meat exports for the first half of 2012 set year-on-year records in both quantity and value, according to data released by the Foreign Agricultural Service.

Exports of US chicken, turkey, and duck for January through June reached more than 1.9 million metric tons valued at $2.6 billion, increased 12 and 22%, respectively, from the same period in 2011, FAS reported.

For the month of June, total poultry meat exports were 323,034 tons valued at $427 million, up 8 and 15%, respectively, from the same month a year earlier. Export value was the highest ever recorded for June.

June exports of broiler meat (excluding chicken paws) totaled 269,129 tons, 12% above the same month last year, while export value climbed more than $340 million, up 25% year over year.

Key markets
Exports surged to key markets such as Russia, Cuba, Angola, Mexico, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine, while shipments to Canada, Iraq, China, and Afghanistan also showed significant growth.
Cumulative first-half broiler exports (excluding paws) for the first half of this year rose by 13% to 1.6 million metric tons, while value increased by 28% to more than $2 billion compared to the same period of last year, both of which are year-on-year records.

First-half broiler exports to Mexico rose by 18% to 264,072 tons, while shipments to Russia grew by 164% to 130,542 tons. Exports to Cuba hit 80,421 tons, up 233%, while shipments to Angola were 79,498 tons, a climb of 39%.

Exports to other important markets were Canada, 78,745 tons, up 21%; Taiwan, 67,851 tons, up 13%; Hong Kong, 65,869 tons, up 38%; Iraq (including transshipments via Turkey), 64,027 tons, up 7%; Kazakhstan, 54,030 tons, up more than five-fold year-on-year; and China, 39,547 tons, up 61%.

Chicken paws
For chicken paws, June exports were 21,965 tons valued at $27 million, down 26 and 37% from June 2011, respectively. While shipments to China increased by 287% to 12,173 metric tons, exports to Hong Kong decreased by 63% to 9,518 tons.

Cumulative exports of chicken paws for the first half of this year were 185,484 tons, a 12% increase year-on-year. Export value set a year-on-year record at $247 million, up 1% from the same period in 2011. Of total paw shipments, 77% or 142,213 tons were shipped to Hong Kong, and 21% or 39,073 tons went to mainland China.

Including paws, total broiler exports for the first half set year-on-year quantity and value records, with an export quantity of approximately 1.8 million tons valuing $2.3 billion, growing 13 and 24% from the same period in 2011, respectively (Figure 1). Of the total exports, almost 43% or 762,627 tons were shipped to the top five markets of Mexico, Hong Kong, Russia, Cuba, and Angola.

Turkey exports
For turkey, June exports were 26,637 tons valued at $48.5 million, up 10 and 7%, respectively, from June 2011, largely because of increased shipments to the Philippines, Congo (Brazzaville), Taiwan, Canada, Japan, Haiti, Russia, and Mexico. Both quantity and value set records for the month of June.

Cumulative first-half turkey exports reached 165,820 tons valued at $316 million, up 11 and 20% from the same period of the previous year, (Figure 2). Both were year-on-year records.

Exports to Mexico, the top market for US turkey, were 89,976 tons valued at $182 million, up 5 and 10% year-on-year, respectively. Shipments to China, the second most important market for US turkey, dropped by 16% to 18,251 tons, while export value reached $30 million, up 27%.

Of the total exports, 78% or 129,404 tons were shipped to the top five markets – Mexico, China, Hong Kong, Canada, and the Philippines, with Mexico alone accounting for 54%.

Table eggs
June table eggs exports were about 10 million dozen valued at $8.1 million, climbing 67 and 54%, respectively, thanks to larger shipments to Hong Kong and Angola.

First-half table egg exports hit 49.6 million dozen valued at $43.7 million, up 34 and 31%, respectively. Of the total, 79% or 39 million dozen were shipped to the top five export markets of Hong Kong, Canada, the UAE, the Bahamas, and Angola.

Exports of processed egg products in June reached $11.3 million, up 20% over June 2011. Even though the export value to Japan decreased by 8% to $3.7 million, value of shipments to the European Union increased by 42% to $3.7 million, largely because of the lingering egg deficit in the EU.

Cumulative export value of egg products in the first half of 2012 were $70 million, up 19% year-on-year. Exports to EU-27 increased by 120% to $26.7 million, accounting for 38% of U.S. total exports worldwide. Exports to Japan decreased by 25% to $21.8 million, accounting for 31% of U.S. total exports worldwide. While export value to South Korea decreased 24% year-on-year, export value to Canada and Mexico increased by 14 and 121%, respectively.

Total egg exports (table eggs plus egg products in shell egg equivalents) for the first half were 122 million dozen, with an export value of $102.7 million, up 10 and 11% from the same period of last year, respectively (Figure 3). Both export quantity and export value set year-on-year records.