Aussie, New Zealand Processors Have Growing Interest in U.S. Pork
Aussie, New Zealand Processors Have Growing Interest in U.S. Pork
A team of pork processors from Australia and New Zealand completed a week-long tour of the U.S. pork industry May 30, emerging with a stronger knowledge of U.S. pork production, fabrication and merchandising practices.
The Oceania region is a rapidly growing market for U.S. pork, accounting for more than 50,000 metric tons (110.2 million pounds) of exports valued at $128.2 million in 2008. This represented an increase of 35 percent in volume and 28 percent in value over 2007. The momentum has continued this year, as January-March exports to the region increased by more than 50 percent in both volume and value over the first quarter of 2008.
The tour, which was supported by Pork Checkoff and Market Access Program (MAP) funding, began with three days of Pork 101 training at Texas A&M University. This session provided a hands-onlearning opportunity regarding live hog grading and evaluation, pork safety, sensory evaluation, carcass fabrication and product processing.
Pork processors from Australia and New Zealand get a close-up view of pork cuts produced at the JBS plant in Marshalltown, Iowa
Team members toured Pine Ridge Farms in Des Moines, Iowa, which provides a wide range of pork products to the retail, foodservice and processing sectors. They then travelled to Marshalltown, Iowa, for a tour of the JBS processing plant and made several retail visits, including Hy-Vee and Albertson’s supermarkets, a Wal-Mart Supercenter, and Gateway Market – a specialty foods retailer, caterer and café with locations in downtown Des Moines and West Des Moines.
“For most of these processors, this was their first visit to the United States and it proved to be very educational and informative,” said Sabrina Yin, USMEF director for the region. “We are achieving exceptional growth for U.S. pork in Australia and New Zealand, where our product is very much in demand. This tour represented a great opportunity to expand our contacts in the processing sector and to further capitalize on this market.”
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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 and is funded by USDA, exporting companies, and the beef, pork, corn and soybean checkoff programs.
Aussie, New Zealand Processors Have Growing Interest in U.S. Pork
A team of pork processors from Australia and New Zealand completed a week-long tour of the U.S. pork industry May 30, emerging with a stronger knowledge of U.S. pork production, fabrication and merchandising practices.
The Oceania region is a rapidly growing market for U.S. pork, accounting for more than 50,000 metric tons (110.2 million pounds) of exports valued at $128.2 million in 2008. This represented an increase of 35 percent in volume and 28 percent in value over 2007. The momentum has continued this year, as January-March exports to the region increased by more than 50 percent in both volume and value over the first quarter of 2008.
The tour, which was supported by Pork Checkoff and Market Access Program (MAP) funding, began with three days of Pork 101 training at Texas A&M University. This session provided a hands-onlearning opportunity regarding live hog grading and evaluation, pork safety, sensory evaluation, carcass fabrication and product processing.
Pork processors from Australia and New Zealand get a close-up view of pork cuts produced at the JBS plant in Marshalltown, Iowa
Team members toured Pine Ridge Farms in Des Moines, Iowa, which provides a wide range of pork products to the retail, foodservice and processing sectors. They then travelled to Marshalltown, Iowa, for a tour of the JBS processing plant and made several retail visits, including Hy-Vee and Albertson’s supermarkets, a Wal-Mart Supercenter, and Gateway Market – a specialty foods retailer, caterer and café with locations in downtown Des Moines and West Des Moines.
“For most of these processors, this was their first visit to the United States and it proved to be very educational and informative,” said Sabrina Yin, USMEF director for the region. “We are achieving exceptional growth for U.S. pork in Australia and New Zealand, where our product is very much in demand. This tour represented a great opportunity to expand our contacts in the processing sector and to further capitalize on this market.”
# # #
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 and is funded by USDA, exporting companies, and the beef, pork, corn and soybean checkoff programs.