U.S. Chilled Pork Gaining Customers in Hong Kong

Late last year, with funding support from the National Pork Board, the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) launched a campaign to expand retail sales of U.S. chilled pork in Hong Kong. This opportunity emerged when Hong Kong’s fresh pork supply declined sharply due to African swine fever (ASF) outbreaks in China.

In this update, Joel Haggard, USMEF senior vice president for the Asia Pacific, says the chilled pork initiative has faced significant challenges, including a lack of familiarity in Hong Kong, where consumers were more accustomed to fresh pork harvested locally and imported frozen pork. But sales have gradually increased, and U.S. chilled pork is gaining traction in the market. Haggard adds that going forward, USMEF is planning retail chilled pork promotions in mainland China and exploring promotional opportunities in Vietnam, where the domestic pork supply has also been hit hard by ASF.

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The U.S. Meat Export Federation (www.USMEF.org) is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the U.S. red meat industry. It is funded by USDA; the beef, pork, lamb, corn and soybean checkoff programs, as well as its members representing nine industry sectors: beef/veal producing & feeding, pork producing & feeding, lamb producing & feeding, packing & processing, purveying & trading, oilseeds producing, feedgrains producing, farm organizations and supply & service organizations. USMEF complies with all equal opportunity, non-discrimination and affirmative action measures applicable to it by contract, government rule or regulation or as otherwise provided by law. USMEF is an equal opportunity employer and provider.