January pork shipments to Japan were the largest since August, but were down slightly year-over-year in both volume (28,216, down 1%) and value ($114.8 million, down 1%), according to January data released by USDA and compiled by USMEF.

US pork faces intense competition from Canadian and Mexican chilled pork and from defrosted Spanish pork being sold at retail. 

The weak Japanese yen continues to cause customers to seek out the most affordable options, including Brazilian pork.