JOC Staff | Jan 14, 2013 4:32PM EST
The U.S. Meat Export Federation reported that U.S. beef and pork exports dipped slightly in November 2012.
Pork exports in November declined 7.7 percent in volume and 5.4 percent in value compared with November 2011. However, November 2011 was the second-best month in U.S. history, behind October 2012, for U.S. pork exports. Mexico continued to be the top pork volume destination in November. In the first 11 months of 2012, pork exports rose 2 percent in volume and 5 percent in value year-over-year.
Beef exports in November dropped 13.3 percent in volume and 1 percent in value from November 2011. Canada, Hong Kong and Central and South America were the top-performing beef export markets in November. From January to November, volume fell 11 percent, but value was up 2 percent, compared with the same period in 2011.
The volume of lamb exports, which was down 13 percent in the first 11 months of 2012, jumped 12.4 percent in November on the strength of strong sales to Mexico, the top lamb export market.