Pork is a major U.S. food and livestock category, with statistics spanning farm inventories, meat production, household availability, prices, and international trade. The figures below cover USDA forecasts for 2025, reported 2024 trade and inventory data, and selected longer-term USDA measures.
Table of contents
- Production and price outlook
- Consumption per person
- Hog inventories and breeding
- Regional inventory snapshots
- Exports and leading markets
- The U.S. position in world pork trade
- Imports and production practices
Production and price outlook
The USDA Economic Research Service forecast U.S. pork production at 28.5 billion pounds for 2025. Its first-quarter forecast was 7.1 billion pounds, while January 2025 federally inspected production was about 2.5 billion pounds. January production was almost 1 percent higher than in January 2024. These figures use different time windows: the annual and quarterly numbers are forecasts, while the January figures describe reported production.
The same February 2025 USDA ERS outlook forecast first-quarter live-equivalent prices for 51–52 percent lean hogs at $62 per hundredweight. It expected the 2025 average U.S. hog price to be $63.50 per hundredweight. The price measures are therefore forecasts rather than observed full-year averages.
Early-stage pig prices showed a sharper year-over-year movement in January 2025. Early-weaned pigs averaged $79.96 per pig, almost 96 percent higher than in January 2024. Forty-pound feeder pigs averaged $102.82 per pig. Those per-pig figures should not be compared directly with hog prices quoted per hundredweight because they describe different animals and pricing units.
For a quick reference, the production and price outlook can be summarized as follows:
| Measure | Value | Period or basis |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. pork production | 28.5 billion lb | 2025 forecast |
| First-quarter pork production | 7.1 billion lb | 2025 forecast |
| January federally inspected production | About 2.5 billion lb | January 2025 |
| Lean hog price | $62/cwt | First-quarter 2025 forecast |
| Average U.S. hog price | $63.50/cwt | 2025 forecast |
| Early-weaned pig price | $79.96/pig | January 2025 |
| Forty-pound feeder pig price | $102.82/pig | January 2025 |
Source for these production and price measures: USDA ERS, Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook: February 2025.
Consumption per person
USDA per-capita pork figures vary by publication and measurement vintage, so the period and source matter. The February 2025 USDA ERS outlook projected U.S. pork consumption at 51.4 pounds per person for 2025. A separate USDA ERS Chart of Note published in August 2025 estimated 2024 per-capita availability at 49.9 pounds and projected 2025 at 49.7 pounds.
That August chart also projected 50.9 pounds per person for 2026. The two 2025 figures—51.4 pounds in the February outlook and 49.7 pounds in the August chart—should be retained as separate source-specific projections rather than combined or treated as a single revised value. They may reflect different publication timing or measurement framing, and the supplied figures do not provide a reconciliation.
| USDA source and measure | Value | Period |
|---|---|---|
| ERS Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook | 51.4 lb per person | 2025 projection |
| ERS Chart of Note | 49.9 lb per person | 2024 estimate |
| ERS Chart of Note | 49.7 lb per person | 2025 projection |
| ERS Chart of Note | 50.9 lb per person | 2026 projection |
For cooking guides, the practical takeaway is that these are national per-capita availability or consumption projections, not a serving-size recommendation for an individual meal. They describe an average across the U.S. population and a stated measurement period.
Sources: USDA ERS, Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook: February 2025 and USDA ERS Chart of Note on per-capita availability, August 2025.
Hog inventories and breeding
USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service quarterly reports show a U.S. hog inventory of 74.6 million head on March 1, 2024. Market hogs accounted for 68.6 million head and breeding hogs for 6.02 million head. The December 2023–February 2024 pig crop was 33.1 million head, with an average of 11.53 pigs weaned per litter. Intended farrowing was 2.92 million sows for March–May 2024 and 2.99 million sows for June–August 2024.
On June 1, 2024, total inventory was 74.5 million head, including 68.5 million market hogs and 6.01 million breeding hogs. The March–May pig crop reached 34.0 million head, and pigs weaned per litter averaged 11.56. Intended farrowing was 2.96 million sows for June–August and 2.94 million for September–November 2024.
The September 1, 2024 inventory was 76.5 million head: 70.4 million market hogs and 6.04 million breeding hogs. The June–August pig crop was 35.0 million head, and pigs weaned per litter averaged 11.72. Intended farrowing was 2.96 million sows for September–November 2024 and 2.93 million for December 2024–February 2025.
On December 1, 2024, the total stood at 75.8 million head, with 69.8 million market hogs and 6.00 million breeding hogs. The September–November pig crop was 35.2 million head, while pigs weaned per litter averaged 11.92. Intended farrowing was 2.93 million sows for December 2024–February 2025 and 2.95 million for March–May 2025.
The June 1, 2025 report recorded 75.1 million hogs, including 69.2 million market hogs and 5.98 million breeding hogs. The March–May 2025 pig crop was 34.2 million head, and pigs weaned per litter averaged 11.75. Intended farrowing was 2.97 million sows for June–August 2025 and 2.95 million for September–November 2025.
These quarterly observations show inventory levels, pig crops, and planned farrowing at particular reporting dates. Intended farrowing is a plan or expectation, not a completed birth count.
Regional inventory snapshots
Iowa, Minnesota, and North Carolina were among the state-level inventory figures supplied in the USDA NASS reports. Iowa inventory was 25.2 million head in March 2024, 24.6 million in June 2024, 25.5 million in September 2024, 24.6 million in December 2024, and 24.7 million in June 2025.
Minnesota inventory was 9.10 million head in March 2024, 9.20 million in June, 9.40 million in September, 9.50 million in December, and 9.30 million in June 2025. North Carolina inventory was 7.40 million head in March 2024, 7.60 million in June, 8.20 million in September, 8.20 million in December, and 7.80 million in June 2025.
| State | March 2024 | June 2024 | September 2024 | December 2024 | June 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa | 25.2m | 24.6m | 25.5m | 24.6m | 24.7m |
| Minnesota | 9.10m | 9.20m | 9.40m | 9.50m | 9.30m |
| North Carolina | 7.40m | 7.60m | 8.20m | 8.20m | 7.80m |
All values are hogs on hand at the relevant USDA NASS inventory date. They are not production totals, sales totals, or estimates of pork available for retail purchase.
Exports and leading markets
USDA Foreign Agricultural Service data valued U.S. pork exports at $8.63 billion in 2024 and recorded export volume of 3.03 million metric tons. The three-year average export value was $8.16 billion, while compound average growth was 4.5 percent over 2015–2024.
Mexico was the largest listed buyer, purchasing $2.58 billion of U.S. pork and pork products in 2024. Japan bought $1.38 billion, China $1.11 billion, and Canada $852.96 million. South Korea purchased $727.9 million.
Additional listed markets included Colombia at $359.87 million, Australia at $327.81 million, the Dominican Republic at $277.07 million, Honduras at $147.18 million, and the Philippines at $120.81 million. These are export values by destination, not shipment weights.
Source: USDA FAS, Pork & Pork Products.
The U.S. position in world pork trade
USDA ERS reports that the United States became a net exporter of pork in 1995. U.S. pork exports reached 26 percent of world exported pork in 2020, while the U.S. share of world exported pork volume peaked at 35 percent in 2008. The U.S. share averaged 29 percent during the last decade covered by that source.
From 2010 through 2022, U.S. fresh and frozen pork cut exports averaged more than 5.6 billion pounds on a carcass-weight-equivalent basis. They peaked at 7.3 billion pounds in 2020. The 2020 peak and the 2025 export forecast of about 7.3 billion pounds come from different USDA ERS statements and should not be read as the same observation.
Source: USDA ERS, Hogs and Pork Sector at a Glance.
Imports and production practices
The USDA ERS reports that the United States accounted for an average of about 6 percent of global pork imports during the last decade covered by the source. U.S. pork import volume was less than 4 percent of global import volume in 2020.
About 93 percent of U.S. pork imports in the last decade came from Canada and European Union member countries. Almost 70 percent came from Canada, and about 25 percent came from EU member countries. These shares describe import origins and are distinct from the export destination values listed above.
Finally, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service reported that less than 3 percent of sows and gilts in the U.S. swine industry were serviced via pen mating. This is a management-practice statistic, not a measure of pork production, inventory, or consumption.
Sources: USDA ERS, Hogs and Pork Sector at a Glance and USDA APHIS, Baseline Reference of Swine Health and Management in the United States.