U.S. Meat Export Federation says March exports of U.S. pork were steady with last year’s volume but were slightly higher in value, according to data released by USDA. Kelli Wicks, manager of market growth for the National Pork Board, talks about the key takeaway of the data.

“The diversification that we’re seeing in our markets. Mexico is still our number one marketplace that our products are going to in terms of volume and value. But just through that, we’ve been able to see significant growth in other areas. For example, Korea has jumped significantly. We’re talking year to date, 54 percent in volume and then 59 percent in value, so just significant growth that we’ve seen there. We’re seeing really strong numbers in Colombia, throughout South America as well as Central America, so just really strong diversification in other places outside of Mexico, though Mexico is still a very important market for us.”

There’s especially good progress in the Pacific region.

“The one that I want to focus on is particularly in Oceania, Australia, and New Zealand, which has seen over 100 percent growth. In Oceania, it’s 151 percent growth in volume and 139 percent in value. That’s a market where we are sending diversified products that will mainly go – raw materials that will go for further processing. We’ve also been able to take some market share away from the European Union as their exports have decreased, and we’ve been able to capitalize on those. And that’s where our partnership with the U.S. Meat Export Federation has stepped in and been able to capture that, showcasing the quality, consistency, and safety that U.S. pork offers to a market like that.”

Visit porkcheckoff.org to learn more about the global economic impacts on pork trade.