U.S. Pork Exports to Dominican Republic Continue to Shine

U.S. pork exports reached their highest level of 2022 in May in both volume (224,677 mt) and value ($655.1 million). While Mexico continues to be the leading market for U.S. pork, the Dominican Republic is exhibiting dramatic growth, with May exports more than doubling from a year ago and year-to-date shipments running 40% above last year’s record pace.

Lucia Ruano, U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) representative in Central America and the Dominican Republic, notes that while demand for pork is high, domestic production has been impacted by African swine fever (ASF), which was first confirmed in the Dominican Republic last summer.

Demand for higher-end pork cuts is growing in the Dominican Republic. With support from USDA and the National Pork Board, USMEF promotes U.S. pork as an affordable option for hotels and restaurants, which are seeing a strong rebound in tourist traffic. U.S. pork is also featured in the country’s rapidly growing retail sector, and demand for pork raw material is strong among Dominican processors.

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The U.S. Meat Export Federation (www.USMEF.org) is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the U.S. red meat industry. It is funded by USDA; the beef, pork, lamb, corn and soybean checkoff programs, as well as its members representing nine industry sectors: beef/veal producing & feeding, pork producing & feeding, lamb producing & feeding, packing & processing, purveying & trading, oilseeds producing, feedgrains producing, farm organizations and supply & service organizations. USMEF complies with all equal opportunity, non-discrimination and affirmative action measures applicable to it by contract, government rule or regulation or as otherwise provided by law. USMEF is an equal opportunity employer and provider.