October meat export results, which were just released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF), showed another outstanding month for U.S. pork exports to Mexico. In fact, pork export value to Mexico – $1.3 billion – has already broken the full-year record set last year ($1.22 million), and export volume to Mexico is on pace to set a new record for the third consecutive year.

USMEF is in the third year of a campaign designed to improve the consumer image of pork in Mexico and raise the overall consumption level. As USMEF Regional Director Chad Russell recently explained to a gathering of U.S. producers and exporters, the United States was already the dominant foreign supplier of pork to Mexico – holding about 36 percent of the overall market and nearly 90 percent of the imported pork market. So in order to achieve additional export growth, USMEF shifted its focus to improving Mexico’s per capita consumption level by educating consumers about the nutritional benefits of pork and showcasing the value and variety pork delivers for their diet.

In the three years since the campaign began, annual per capita pork consumption in Mexico has increased by about 10 percent – or an average of 3.3 percent per year – and now exceeds 16 kilograms. As a result, Mexico has been a key driver of U.S. pork export growth 2014. On a global basis, January-October pork exports are 4 percent ahead of last year’s pace in volume (1.87 million metric tons) and up 13 percent in value ($5.61 billion).

Listen to USMEF’s weekly audio report here: USMEF Audio Report