November Pork and Beef Exports Below Year-Ago Levels; Lamb Trends Higher
Hear/Download the Audio Report HERE.
Exports of U.S. pork remained relatively strong in November but were below the large total reported in November 2024, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). Beef exports were significantly lower year-over-year, due in large part to the ongoing lockout by China. Lamb exports were a bright spot, posting the largest volume since July and highest value since May. USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom highlights the market activity in this week’s USMEF audio report.
Exports of U.S. pork totaled 254,085 metric tons (mt) in November, down 7% from a year ago but the third largest of 2025. Exports were valued at $720.8 million, down 8% year-over-year but also the third highest of 2025. November exports increased year-over-year to Mexico, South Korea and the Dominican Republic and were record-large to Guatemala, but these results were offset by lower shipments to China, Japan, Canada and Colombia.
For January through November, pork exports totaled 2.68 million mt, down 3% from the record pace of 2024, while value also fell 3% to $7.65 billion. With most of this decline being due to lower variety meat shipments to China, where U.S. pork faces retaliatory duties, January-November exports of pork muscle cuts were just 1% below 2024’s record pace in both volume (2.19 million mt) and value ($6.57 billion).
While down slightly from a year ago, November pork export value per head slaughtered was outstanding at $70.26. The January-November average was $65.54, down less than 1% from the record pace of 2024.
Following an encouraging rebound the previous month, November beef exports took a step back, falling 19% from a year ago to 88,139 mt. Export value was down 16% to $736.7 million. The decline was driven primarily by China, where exports remain minimal due to China’s failure to renew registrations for U.S. beef plants and other market-closing factors, but beef exports also trended lower year-over-year to Korea, Mexico, Canada and Taiwan. November exports increased year-over-year to Indonesia, Chile, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Colombia, and were fairly steady to Japan.
For January through November, beef exports totaled 1.04 million mt, down 12% from the same period in 2024. Export value was $8.52 billion, down 11%. But when excluding China from these results, exports were down 3% year-over-year in volume and were just 1% lower in value.
November exports of U.S. lamb muscle cuts totaled 237 mt, up 87% from a year ago and the largest since July. Export value increased 65% to $1.45 million, the highest since May. Growth was driven by Mexico, the Netherlands Antilles and the Bahamas, as well as larger shipments to Central America and Japan.
For January through November, lamb muscle cut exports increased 44% year-over-year to 2,577 mt, while value climbed 31% to $14.1 million. With December results still to be added, exports have already posted the largest annual volume since 2014 and the highest value since 2017.
A detailed summary of the January-November export results for U.S. pork, beef and lamb is available from the USMEF website.