US May pork exports to Japan held fairly steady with last year at 30,010 mt, while value was down 1% to $121.9 million, according to data released by USDA and compiled by USMEF.

January-May shipments to Japan were down slightly to 153,052 mt, with value steady at $618.2 million. 

Similar to beef, the strong US dollar has hampered Japan’s demand for US pork, but Japan is importing more frozen US pork to partially offset the decline in ground seasoned pork and chilled pork. 

The rise in tourism, declining inventories and still-high prices for European pork offer potential growth opportunities in the second half of the year.