Emphasizing the quality and consistency of U.S. red meat is the key to expanding the international customer base, according to the impressive lineup of opening day speakers on Wednesday at the U.S. Meat Export Federation Spring Conference in Kansas City.
USMEF members from throughout the nation also learned about additional resources available to promote U.S. pork, beef and lamb in emerging markets through USDA’s new Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP).
USMEF Chair Randy Spronk, a pork and grain producer from Edgerton, Minn., welcomed attendees with a reminder of how critical free trade agreements (FTAs) have been in creating global opportunities for the U.S. red meat industry.
“Would we have found success in South Korea if U.S. beef was still tariffed at 40% and U.S. pork at 25%?” Spronk asked. “Would we have been able to develop Central and South America, or the Dominican Republic, into reliable destinations for U.S. red meat?”
While they are not full-blown FTAs, Spronk also praised the market access gains achieved in the U.S.-China Phase One Economic and Trade Agreement and the U.S.-Japan Agreement.
USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom followed with an update on year-to-date export results for U.S. pork, beef and lamb. On the pork side, Halstrom explained that while shipments to leading market Mexico are on a record pace, U.S. pork is achieving broad-based growth in several regions. Halstrom noted that first quarter export value ($2.1 billion) equated to more than $64 per hog slaughtered, while March exports averaged nearly $71 per head.
USMEF news release
Comments