February was a mixed bag for U.S. beef and pork exports. Pork exports during the month were higher compared to the same time last year. Dan Halstrom, the president and CEO of the U.S. Meat Export Federation, said pork exports were one percent above February 2025.
“The volume was up slightly from a year ago, at 243,000 metric tons, up 1%, and the value is also up 1%. Two things stand out. Number one is Latin America continues to perform. Mexico continued growth off of last year’s record, up 4% for the month on volume, up 9% on value, a $220.1 million month. Central America up pretty big as well. So, the Latin American story continues. In the last couple of months, we’ve seen renewed momentum out of Japan. Japan had a very good month, 28,000 tons, up 20% off of last year, which was a bit low, but still, it’s 20% growth off of last year. And the value for Japan was up 14%, and the contribution value per head of exports in the month of February, $67 a head, which is the highest level in quite a while.”
USDA data showed that beef exports trended lower, with a big reason being a continued lack of access to the Chinese market. However, beef variety meats posted another strong increase.
“Thirteen percent down at 85,000 tons. However, you take China out, really only down about 1% on the value side, $720.3 million, down 10%, but once again, take out China, we’re actually up 4% on the value. But there’s definitely some bright spots. Looking at Latin America, Mexico on the beef side, the continued theme, that’s probably the most exciting, is the momentum on the beef variety meats. This is several months in a row with very big performance, 12% growth on variety meats and 40% growth on the value side. If you look at the contribution per head for exports on the beef side for the month of February, we’re at $423 a head. That is the highest level in 11 months.”
Exports of U.S. lamb muscle cuts trended higher in February, reaching the largest volume (326 metric tons, up 52 percent) since May 2025. The export value increased by 31 percent to $1.47 million.
A detailed summary of the January-February export results for U.S. pork, beef, and lamb, including market-specific highlights, is available from the USMEF website.