Joseph Bonney, Senior Editor | Aug 17, 2012 9:53AM EDT
Led by sharp increases in shipments to Mexico, Russia, and other key markets, U.S. poultry meat exports for the first half of 2012 set year-over-year records in quantity and value, according to the U.S. Foreign Agricultural Service.
Exports of U.S. chicken, turkey, and duck for January through June rose 12 percent to more than 1.9 million metric tons. The value of those exports jumped 22 percent to $2.6 billion. Cumulative first-half broiler exports excluding paws for the first half of this year rose by 13 percent to 1.6 million metric tons, while value increased by 28 percent to more than $2 billion.
Broiler exports to Mexico rose by 18 percent to 264,072 tons. Increases also were posted to Russia, up 164 percent to 130,542 tons; Cuba, up 233 percent to 80,421 tons; Angola, up 39 percent to 79,498 tons; Canada, up 21 percent to 78,745 tons; Taiwan, up 13 percent to 67,851 tons; Hong Kong, up 38 percent to 65,869 tons; Iraq (including transshipments via Turkey), up 7 percent to 64,027 tons; Kazakhstan, up more than fivefold to 54,030 tons; and China, up 61 percent to 39,547 tons.
Table egg exports during the year’s first half hit 49.6 million dozen valued at $43.7 million, up 34 and 31 percent, respectively. Of the total, 79 percent or 39 million dozen were shipped to the top five export markets of Hong Kong, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, the Bahamas and Angola.
Contact Joseph Bonney at jbonney@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @josephbonney.
Figures courtesy USA Poultry & Egg Export Council.
