U.S. pork and beef ex­­ports maintained their strong momentum in May, with export volumes for both products exceeding last year’s totals and value increasing by double digits, according to statistics released last week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).

May pork exports totaled 188,030 metric tons, up 4 percent from a year ago. Export value remained in the $600 million range for the third consecutive month, increasing 19 percent to $599.6 million. For January through May, U.S. pork export volume (964,631 metric tons) was 9 percent ahead of last year’s pace, while export value was up 15 percent to $2.84 billion.

Mexico imported 56,665 metric tons, the largest monthly volume since...