US poultry exports continue on record pace
Although US poultry exports through the third quarter of 2013 continued on a record pace, growing marginally in quantity and value over the same period last year, combined exports of table eggs and processed egg products reached historical highs, according to trade data released last week by the Foreign Agricultural Service.
Total January-September poultry exports reached year-on-year records of 3.077 million metric tons valued at $4.152 billion, up 1% and 3%, respectively.
Combined US exports of eggs and processed egg products through the third quarter of the year, measured in shell-egg equivalents, reached 250.5 million dozen, up 28% from the same period in 2012, while export value hit $245.61 million, up 33%. Both export quantity and export value set year-on-year records.
Exports to key markets for the period included Mexico, 484,958 tons, up 19%; Russia, 213,316 tons, up 3%; Angola, 148,256 tons, up 20%; and Canada, 127,648 tons, up 0.2%.
Shipments to other important markets included Cuba, 110,757 tons, down 1%; China, 104,113 tons, up 59%; Iraq, 120,613 tons, up 23%; Taiwan, 68,099 tons, down 31%; Georgia, 59,550 tons, up 1%; and Guatemala, 59,082 tons, up 14%.
Turkey meat
September exports of US turkey meat slipped by 10% from September 2012 to 30,052 tons. Export value, meanwhile, rose by 1% to $59.9 million. Cumulative January-September turkey meat exports fell by 4% to 252,700 tons, while export value rose by 2% to $496.8 million. Export value for the three quarters set a year-on-year record, while quantity was the second-highest ever.
The main reason for the dip in export quantity was a decline in exports of US turkey to the top market of Mexico. Shipments dropped by just over 3% to 133,635 tons, which was offset by a rise in export value to $271.9 million. Shipments to China, the second-largest US turkey market, were 34,385 tons valued at $53.9 million, up 3% and 4%, respectively. Top markets included Mexico, China, Canada, South Africa, and the Philippines.
Table eggs
Exports of US table eggs for September slipped by 8% to 16.5 million dozen, while value declined by 13% to $16.1 million. Cumulative January-September exports of table eggs were up 65% in quantity and 71% in value to 140.29 million dozen and $134.71 million, respectively. Top export markets included Mexico, Hong Kong, Canada, the U.A.E., and the European Union.
For egg products, September exports were $10.74 million, down 18% from September 2012. Export value to Japan, the top export market for US egg products, dipped 12.7% to $3.89 million. Export value to key markets of Canada increased slightly, while shipments to Mexico and the EU were down significantly from the September 2012.
Cumulative exports of egg products for January through September rose by 4% to $110.89 million. Exports to top market Japan increased by 5% to $35.62 million, accounting for 32.1% of total US exports of egg products. Exports to Mexico quadrupled from 2012 to $28 million, while exports to the EU plummeted by 63.6% to $12.8 million. While exports to Canada increased by 53.7% to $9.5 million, exports to Hong Kong were up by 34% to $2.9 million.
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