Anuga - an Important Showcase for U.S. Beef, Pork

This week USMEF exhibited a variety of beef and pork products at the Anuga trade show in Cologne, Germany. Anuga is one of the world’s largest and most important food exhibitions and an outstanding venue for exporters of U.S. beef and pork. In its 31st year, Anuga attracted more than 150,000 food and beverage industry visitors over five days, and nearly 6,600 exhibitors from more than 100 countries. USMEF’s participation in Anuga was made possible through support from the Pork Checkoff and Beef Checkoff Programs, and the USDA Market Access Program (MAP).

“Anuga brings together operators from all over the world, and so for U.S. meat companies it is an amazing opportunity to meet in one place with clients from different regions,” explained John Brook, USMEF regional director for Europe, Russia and the Middle East. “Anuga has a strong European base, with all countries from the European Union being well-represented. But there is also excellent attendance from Eastern Europe, Russia, the Middle East and Africa.”

Brook said U.S. beef enjoys a higher profile in Europe than in years past, now that establishment of a duty-free quota has made beef imports from the United States more accessible.

“Exports of U.S. beef to the European Union performed extremely well in the past quota year, which ran through the end of June,” he said. “We more or less doubled the quantity over the previous quota year. So it’s fantastic to see that thanks to the hard work invested by U.S. producers and exporters, the quality of U.S. beef is being more and more widely recognized across the continent. There is great potential for further expansion in this market.”

Brook noted that while Europe has historically been self-sufficient in pork production and U.S. exports to the region are fairly small, a change could be on the horizon.

“European pork production is very substantial, but producers here are struggling with very high feed costs and stricter animal welfare regulations,” he said. “The impact on the European Union’s ability to remain self-sufficient in pork production remains to be seen, but this could present some new opportunities for the U.S. pork industry. In the meantime, we are certainly capitalizing on export opportunities in Russia and other markets in the region.”

In addition to Brook and USMEF-Moscow Manager Yuri Barutkin, USMEF was represented at Anuga by Chair-elect Danita Rodibaugh, President and CEO Philip Seng, Senior Vice President for Marketing and Communications Dan Halstrom and Director of International Trade Programs Tammy Connolly.

For more details on the Anuga food exhibition, please visit www.anuga.com.