US meat promotion exercise a success
03/09/2008
Efforts to build up US beef exports to Japan have continued with a promotion exercise carried out by two members of the Nebraska Soybean Board (NSB).
The organisation’s executive director, secretary and treasurer—Victor Bohuslavsky, Mike Korth and Duane Lee—have completed a five-day trade mission throughout Japan, accompanied by staff from the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF).
Through face-to-face interaction with key meat buyers as well as Japanese consumers, the Nebraskan team said it had gained a better understanding of how financial support from the NSB and the soybean industry could be used to enhance sales of US beef and pork in this “critical export market”.
Japan is currently the single largest market for US pork exports when measured by value ($712.3 million in the first half of 2008 – a 23% increase over 2007). It was also once the largest market for US beef before closing to beef exports in December 2003. Since reopening to beef from US cattle 20 months of age and younger, Japan has climbed back to become the third-largest beef (including variety meat) export market in terms of value ($177 million in the first half of 2008—a 70% increase over the same time period last year).
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