United States-Beef and Pork exports.

UNITED STATES-BEEF EXPORTS.

U.S. beef and pork muscle meat exports in December posted gains of nearly 16% and 6%, respectively, from a year earlier, while the yearly totals were up a whopping 35% for beef and 49% for pork. The U.S. Department of Agriculture released the export data for December this week. Total beef exports, which includes the muscle cuts plus variety meats such as livers and hearts, for the year were 984,712 metric tons, a gain of 28% from 2007. The pork muscle cuts and variety meats total for the year was nearly 2.053 million tons, an increase of 57% from the previous year. Pork exports in 2008 set a new record for the 17th consecutive year. The gains last year were so large, in fact, that the 2007 total was beaten during the third quarter of 2008.