Strong pork sales in Mexico
15/05/2009
The pork industry has moved quickly to distance itself from the H1N1 flu virus (see leatherbiz, April 29 and 30, 2009) that may have caused up to 100 deaths in Mexico and the US in April and May. However, the effect of the outbreak on pork sales in particular (owing to the virus being widely called swine flu in the media) remains to be seen.
Ironically, perhaps, figures for the month of March showed "extremely strong pork sales to Mexico", according the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF).
Total export sales of US pork reached almost 490,000 tonnes in volume and $1.1 billion in value for the month, increases of 8% and 10% respectively compared to March last year.
USMEF said on announcing the figures that Mexico had led "the surge in pork exports", although it accepted that "current conditions" (a reference to H1N1) had since created uncertainty in Mexico and in other markets.
Total US pork exports to Mexico in March were 45,741 tonnes, nearly double the volume of March 2008. The increase in value was even greater at 76%, reaching $65.2 million. "US pork has been performing extremely well in Mexico, and we have continued to grow the market at a very strong pace,” said Chad Russell, USMEF regional director for Mexico and the Dominican Republic. “The bad news, obviously, is the disruption that has taken place in the market since that time. We have a significant rebuilding project under way with regard to pork demand and consumer activity in general, but these numbers give us confidence that US pork has a solid following and will bounce back quickly.”
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