The U.S. exported 288.7 million lbs. of beef during September, according to USDA data. While that was down 11.0% from the all-time high in August, it was up 20.9% from September 2020 and the fourth highest monthly total ever. Through the first nine months of 2021, the U.S. shipped 2.58 billion lbs. of beef, up 21.0% from the same period last year, led by a 704% surge in exports to China.
The U.S. exported 510.1 million lbs. of pork in September, down 3.0% from August and 6.3% less than year-ago. From January through September, U.S. pork exports totaled 5.378 billion lbs., down 0.8% from the same period last year. U.S. pork shipments to China dropped 37.1% in the first nine months of the year compared with the same period in 2020.