October 17, 2000

The export value of livestock, meat and related products totaled $8.7 billion in 1999, and strong beef, pork and broiler export sales so far this year point to an increase in total industry export value in 2000, according to Meat and Poultry Facts 2000, released by the American Meat Institute (AMI).

Meat and Poultry Facts 2000 reports that last year's total U.S. beef output of 26.5 billion pounds was a new record, eclipsing the 1976 production record. Total poultry production also set a record with 35.5 billion pounds produced, a nine percent increase over 1998 poultry production levels.

The data also indicate that numbers of both cattle and hogs continued their cyclical decline in 1999. Contraction of the national cattle herd has been underway since 1995, but profits in the cow-calf sector for the past several years have set the stage for a turnaround in cattle numbers. Losses in the hog production sector in late 1998 and 1999 also have abated, and hog supplies are expected to begin increasing next year. The supply increases in cattle and hog numbers will occur in production sectors significantly different from what existed at the beginning of the 1990s.

Meat and Poultry Facts 2000 was compiled using data gathered from official U.S. sources, including the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Commerce. Copies can be ordered by contacting Kathy Appel of Watt Publishing by telephone at 815/734-4171 or by email at appel@wattmm.com. Orders may also be sent to 122 S. Wesley Avenue, Mt. Morris, IL, 61054, or faxed to 815/734-9091.