DENVER — Both beef and pork US exports posted year-over-year increases in October, according to data released by US Department of Agriculture and compiled by the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF). The report noted that pork exports in particular are well positioned to set annual volume and value records in 2024.

October beef exports improved 1% from year-ago levels to 105,269 tonnes, while value jumped by 3% to $860.4 million. Mexico continued to be a prominent market for US beef as it has been all throughout 2024. Exports rebounded to South Korea and China/Hong Kong and increased in Central America, the Caribbean and the ASEAN region.

“It’s encouraging to see an uptick in demand for US beef in China and Korea, where the economic headwinds have been formidable this year,” said Dan Halstrom, president and chief executive officer at USMEF. “Our Western Hemisphere markets have been outstanding, and exports have also expanded to the ASEAN region. So if US beef can regain momentum in these larger Asian destinations, this bodes well for 2025.”

October was also a strong month for pork performance, with exports up 3% from last year, reaching 252,411 tonnes. Value also climbed 3% to $710.4 million. Shipments to Mexico did see a slight decline but were offset by growth in Japan, Central America, the Caribbean, Oceania and the ASEAN region. After this month’s report, USMEF estimates that pork exports will surpass 3 million tonnes for the first time, exceeding the 2020 volume record (2.98 million tonnes) as well as last year’s value record ($8.16 billion).

“While shipments to Mexico eased just a bit in October, $217 million in exports is still a tremendous number,” Halstrom said. “This just highlights the remarkable growth US pork has achieved in the Mexican market, which is enabled by the duty-free access delivered through the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement. This access is critical and something we can never take for granted. At the same time, the fact that global exports still achieved an increase in October really underscores the importance of market diversification.”

To round out the positive month of posting, US lamb exports rose 2% from last year to 185 tonnes. However, value fell by about 8% to just over $1 million. Exports to the Caribbean trended higher in October, led by strong demand in the Bahamas, but shipments were lower to Mexico and Canada.