May 18
Everything but the squeal PDF Print E-mail
Wednesday, 01 February 2012 15:27

Pork byproduct export is lucrative

According to Daniel Marti, an economist at the USDA’s Economic Research Service, U.S. pork byproduct exports totaled $700 million a year ago—almost 15 percent of the total value of U.S. pork exports. Fresh or chilled offal is the leading edible byproduct export (13 percent). Other exports include hog feet (11 percent), rinds (8 percent), guts, bladders and stomachs (8 percent), frozen intestines (7 percent), and all other frozen pork offal (45 percent). China and Mexico accounted for 68 percent of U.S. edible pork byproduct exports (these are 2010 numbers). 
In foreign markets, demand for U.S. edible offal is high because of its superior quality and low prices relative to domestic products.