August beef exports totaled 112,069 metric tons (mt), up 5% from a year ago and the largest of 2017.

Export value was the second-highest on record at $679.1 million – up 20% from a year ago and trailing only the record-high value ($688.8 million) reached in October 2014.

For January through August, beef exports increased 10% in volume (823,433 mt) and 16% in value ($4.65 billion) compared to the first eight months of 2016. 

Exports accounted for 12.5% of total U.S. beef production in August and 10.4% for muscle cuts only, compared to 13.7% and 10.3%, respectively, last year.

For January through August, beef exports accounted for 12.8% of total production (down from 13.2%) and 10.1% (steady with last year) for muscle cuts.

Export value per head of fed slaughter averaged $290.05 in August, up 13% from a year ago. Through August, per-head export value was up 9% to $275.81.

Pork exports totaled 183,658 mt in August, down 2% year-over-year, valued at $511.4 million, down 0.3%.

January-August volume remained 95 above last year’s record pace at 1.61 million mt, while export value increased 11% to $4.21 billion.

Exports accounted for 23.1% of total pork production in August (down from 24.1% a year ago) and 19.2% for muscle cuts only (down from 20%).

For the first eight months of the year, the percentage of total production exported was 26.9% (up from 25.4% last year).

For pork muscle cuts only, the percentage exported was 22.4% (up from 21.3%).

Export value per head slaughtered trended lower in August at $47.98, down 3% from a year ago, but the January-August average was still up 8% to $53.28.

U.S. lamb export volume in August was below last year’s level at 659 mt (down 14%), but this was largest total since March and the second-largest of the year.

Export value was up 20% to $1.72 million.

Through August, lamb exports were down 135 from a year ago in volume (5,007 mt) but increased 10% in value to $12.8 million.

For lamb muscle cuts only, January-August exports were up 14% in volume (1,474 mt) and 21% in value to just under $9 million. This included year-over-year growth to Mexico and Canada, along with promising increases to the Netherlands Antilles, the Bahamas, Honduras, Guatemala and Taiwan.