Records fall for Q1 US chicken and turkey meat exports

Compared to the first quarter of 2011, January-March export quantity of US poultry meat reached 984,947 metric tonnes, up 14 %, while the value of those shipments climbed to USUS$1.302 billion, up 27 %, both of which are all-time records.

US poultry exports for the month of March also set quantity and value records, reaching 339,220 tonnes valued at US$459.4 million, up 9.3 and 21.8 %, respectively, over March 2011.

Monthly exports of broiler meat – excluding chicken paws – in March were 269,755 tonnes, up 7 % from March 2011, while export value rose to US$343.2 million, up 23 %, fueled by increased shipments to Cuba, Russia, Mexico and Kazakhstan.

For the first quarter, broiler meat (excluding paws) exports were 787,722 tonnes valued at US$796.3 million, up respectively by 14 and 31 %.

First-quarter broiler meat shipments to Mexico, the top market for US poultry, rose by 11 % year over year to 128,274 metric tonnes, while exports to Russia increased 91 % to 52,968 tonnes. Exports to Cuba climbed four-fold to 45,072 tonnes, while shipments to Taiwan rose by 9 % to 40,962 tonnes.

Exports to other important markets in the first quarter were Hong Kong, 37,226 tonnes, down 34 %; Canada, 35,965 tonnes, up 11 %; Iraq (including transshipments via Turkey) 35,875 tonnes, up 7 %; Angola, 26,557 tonnes, down 8 %; South Korea, 22,141 tonnes, down 20 %; Kazakhstan, 21,443 tonnes, up nine-fold year on year.

Exports of US chicken paws in March reached were 35,472 tonnes valued at US$48.3 million, up 43 and 33 % from March 2011, respectively. While shipments to Hong Kong rose by 36.2 % to 31,419 tonnes, exports to mainland China increased by 169.4 % to 3,793 tonnes.

First-quarter exports of chicken paws reached 101,544 tonnes at US$134.5 million, up 29 and 14 % year on year, respectively. Export value set a year-on-year record, while export quantity was slightly lower than the record set in 2008.

Not to be left out, US turkey meat exports rose by 9 % in March to 29,111 tonnes over March 2011, while value jumped by 24 % to US$57.8 million. Both export quantity and value set records for the month.

Cumulative first-quarter 2012 turkey exports also set records for quantity and value, reaching 82,053 tonnes valued at US$160.5 million, respective increases of 13 and 28 % from the same period a year earlier (Figure 2). Exports to top market Mexico climbed to 46,947 tonnes at US$98.8 million, up 13 and 25 % year on year, respectively.

Moreover, the top five markets accounted for 79 % of US turkey meat exports for the first quarter, with Mexico alone taking 57 %.

For table eggs, export quantity for March 2012 was 7.7 million dozen, down 5 % from March 2011, while export value was US$7 million, up 0.6 %. The dip is largely attributable to decreased exports to the U.A.E.

Quarterly exports of table eggs jumped to nearly 21 million dozen valued at US$19.4 million, up 31 and 42 % year on year, respectively. Of the total, 82 %, or just over 17 million dozen were shipped to the top five export markets of Hong Kong, Canada, U.A.E., Bahamas, and Netherlands Antilles.
For egg products, March exports were US$113.238 million, up 28 % from March 2011. While export value to Japan decreased 40 %, exports to the EU-27, Canada, and Mexico all increased significantly. Cumulative export value of egg products in the first quarter of 2012 was nearly US$32 million, up 22 % year on year.

Exports to Japan, the top export market for US egg products, decreased 8 % to US$11.8 million, accounting for 37 % of US egg products exports.

Total egg exports (table eggs plus egg products in shell-egg equivalents) for the first quarter of this year were 53.7 million dozen, up 2 % from the same period of last year, while export value was US$51.3 million, up 29 % year over year (Figure 3).

 

Source: USA Poultry & Egg Export Council