ASEAN | Singapore, Malaysia Pork Buyers Tour U.S. Pork Facilities | To better...

ASEAN

Singapore, Malaysia Pork Buyers Tour U.S. Pork Facilities

To better understand the attributes of U.S. pork, a 10-member team from Singapore and Malaysia is on tour of U.S. meat facilities Oct. 9-18. The team is being led by USMEF ASEAN Director Eric Choon.

The team is touring Iowa pork production locations, visiting Chicago pork retail facilities and meeting with pork traders in Atlanta. Team members represent companies interested in both foodservice and retail pork, manufacturing pork materials and offal.Several companies represented are looking for U.S. processed pork such as ham, sausages, bacon and deli meats.

Although Malaysia is basically a Muslim nation, there is demand for pork from the ethnic Chinese. This group is in the minority, but they generally have a higher disposal income. In Singapore, with an expanding tourism trade and a casino industry scheduled to start in 2-3 years, the foodservice trade is becoming more open to high quality imported meats.

The domestic pork industry in Malaysia is declining, and the country will need to import greater quantities in the near future. Through August 2006 the United States exported 226 metric tons (mt) of pork and pork variety meat to Malaysia, worth $326,000. U.S. pork and pork variety meat exports to Singapore through August totaled 781 mt worth $1.9 million.

ASEAN

Singapore, Malaysia Pork Buyers Tour U.S. Pork Facilities

To better understand the attributes of U.S. pork, a 10-member team from Singapore and Malaysia is on tour of U.S. meat facilities Oct. 9-18. The team is being led by USMEF ASEAN Director Eric Choon.

The team is touring Iowa pork production locations, visiting Chicago pork retail facilities and meeting with pork traders in Atlanta. Team members represent companies interested in both foodservice and retail pork, manufacturing pork materials and offal.Several companies represented are looking for U.S. processed pork such as ham, sausages, bacon and deli meats.

Although Malaysia is basically a Muslim nation, there is demand for pork from the ethnic Chinese. This group is in the minority, but they generally have a higher disposal income. In Singapore, with an expanding tourism trade and a casino industry scheduled to start in 2-3 years, the foodservice trade is becoming more open to high quality imported meats.

The domestic pork industry in Malaysia is declining, and the country will need to import greater quantities in the near future. Through August 2006 the United States exported 226 metric tons (mt) of pork and pork variety meat to Malaysia, worth $326,000. U.S. pork and pork variety meat exports to Singapore through August totaled 781 mt worth $1.9 million.