Training Sessions Offer New Ideas for U.S. Beef, Pork in Southern China

Separate training sessions presented by USMEF in southern China provided importers new ideas to help grow sales of U.S. beef and pork in the region’s foodservice, retail and hotel, restaurant and institutional (HRI) sectors.

Funded by the Oklahoma Beef Council and the National Pork Board, the trainings were conducted in Guangzhou and Shenzhen in late July.

In Guangzhou, USMEF teamed with Taixian, a U.S. beef and pork importer that has been developing a customer base in the HRI and retail channels while also selling U.S. red meat directly to consumers at retail. Cuts highlighted during the session were U.S. beef clod heart, hanging tender and top blade, as well as U.S. pork CT butt.

“This year, Taixian began to distribute U.S. beef to Walmart stores in the region and also became more involved in online sales,” said Ming Liang, USMEF marketing director in China. “For this training, we explained U.S. production inputs and standards before conducting retail cutting demonstrations and sharing home-style cooking ideas. Our goal was to help them increase the number of U.S. cuts they offer at retail and teach their sales staff how to explain the high-quality attributes of U.S. red meat to consumers.”

In Shenzhen, USMEF partnered with importer and distributor PMI Foods for a cutting and cooking demonstration for targeted restaurants, primarily those that serve Asian-style barbecue. More than 50 chefs and restaurant managers participated.

“Red meat consumption is very high in Shenzhen and Asian-style barbecue restaurants have recovered from COVID-19 very fast there, so we thought it was important to focus on that segment at this time,” said Liang.

U.S. red meat trainings in southern China provided retailers and restaurants with new ideas on how to cut and cook U.S. beef and pork

During the training, two guest chefs – one Cantonese and one a western chef -- helped introduce new cooking ideas for U.S. beef and pork.

According to Liang, U.S. beef and pork sales at the participating restaurants the first two weeks of August increased by 200% compared to the same period in July.