Market Education Program Offers Producers Firsthand Look at Japan, Taiwan
Published: Mar 24, 2011
Editor’s note: This program was completed prior to the recent earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan.
A group of 13 producers representing different sectors of U.S. agriculture recently completed a U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) trade visit to Japan and Taiwan. The delegation met with meat industry representatives and trade officials in both countries to learn more about what makes them critical markets for U.S. beef and pork.
The itinerary began with a visit to the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo for a briefing on USMEF’s marketing programs and objectives. The producers discussed the current U.S.-Japan trade relationship with Geoffrey Wiggin, the embassy’s minister-counselor for agricultural affairs, and Jennifer Clever, agricultural attaché. They also had a roundtable discussion with representatives of major U.S. packers who supply beef and pork to Japan.
A group of 13 producers representing different sectors of U.S. agriculture recently completed a U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) trade visit to Japan and Taiwan. The delegation met with meat industry representatives and trade officials in both countries to learn more about what makes them critical markets for U.S. beef and pork.
The itinerary began with a visit to the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo for a briefing on USMEF’s marketing programs and objectives. The producers discussed the current U.S.-Japan trade relationship with Geoffrey Wiggin, the embassy’s minister-counselor for agricultural affairs, and Jennifer Clever, agricultural attaché. They also had a roundtable discussion with representatives of major U.S. packers who supply beef and pork to Japan.
The embassy visit concluded with a consumer panel discussion with a group of Japanese homemakers who provided a consumer perspective on meat safety, nutrition and traceability and shared candid insights about the factors that affect their buying behavior.
“The feedback from the consumer panel was very interesting,” said Myron Danner, a cattle producer from Burwell, Neb., and member of the Nebraska Beef Council. “Food safety is a concern that came up repeatedly, as there are some lingering doubts about the safety of U.S. meat due to BSE. So I think USMEF has hit a home run with the emphasis it has placed on food safety and restoring consumer confidence in our products.”
After the embassy meetings, the producers visited several retail outlets to observe the merchandising of U.S. beef and pork. They noted the selection of both domestic and imported meats available in Japanese supermarkets and department stores, as well as the differences in shopping practices between American and Japanese consumers.
The following day, the group visited a large beef processing plant in Tokyo and Japan’s largest cold storage warehouse. Lunch was at Inaba Wako Shinagawa – a restaurant whose signature dish is tonkatsu — a breaded U.S. pork cutlet . Dinner was at Suehiro, a shabu shabu (hotpot) restaurant that allowed the group to compare U.S., Australian and domestic Wagyu beef.
The group’s final day in Japan was spent at FOODEX, Asia’s largest food trade show that attracts exhibitors from across the globe and more than 80,000 visitors over four days. USMEF’s participation in FOODEX was made possible by the Beef Checkoff and Pork Checkoff programs and the USDA Market Access Program.
“The feedback from the consumer panel was very interesting,” said Myron Danner, a cattle producer from Burwell, Neb., and member of the Nebraska Beef Council. “Food safety is a concern that came up repeatedly, as there are some lingering doubts about the safety of U.S. meat due to BSE. So I think USMEF has hit a home run with the emphasis it has placed on food safety and restoring consumer confidence in our products.”
After the embassy meetings, the producers visited several retail outlets to observe the merchandising of U.S. beef and pork. They noted the selection of both domestic and imported meats available in Japanese supermarkets and department stores, as well as the differences in shopping practices between American and Japanese consumers.
The following day, the group visited a large beef processing plant in Tokyo and Japan’s largest cold storage warehouse. Lunch was at Inaba Wako Shinagawa – a restaurant whose signature dish is tonkatsu — a breaded U.S. pork cutlet . Dinner was at Suehiro, a shabu shabu (hotpot) restaurant that allowed the group to compare U.S., Australian and domestic Wagyu beef.
The group’s final day in Japan was spent at FOODEX, Asia’s largest food trade show that attracts exhibitors from across the globe and more than 80,000 visitors over four days. USMEF’s participation in FOODEX was made possible by the Beef Checkoff and Pork Checkoff programs and the USDA Market Access Program.
“FOODEX was really awesome,” said Scott Singlestad, a member of the United Soybean Board and the USMEF Executive Committee who raises soybeans, corn and hogs near Waseca, Minn. “You could walk from Argentina to Spain to the United Kingdom, visit all the Japanese companies and everything in between. Japan is a very high-end market and everyone clearly wants to be selling their products here.”
Jerry Effertz, a rancher from Velva, N.D., who serves as chairman of the North Dakota Beef Commission, was impressed with the positive reception of U.S. beef and pork at FOODEX, but also warned that the U.S. could not afford to let its guard down in this fiercely competitive market.“It’s not surprising to see traditional competitors here like the Canadians and Australians,” Effertz said. “But there are meat products being offered here by many countries that we don’t normally think of as our competition. So if we don’t actively market a high-quality, high-value product in Japan, someone else will fill that niche.”
The group’s next stop was Taipei, where activities opened with a briefing by staff from the American Institute in Taiwan and USMEF-Taiwan. The presentations emphasized the importance of the Taiwanese market to U.S. agriculture, as evidenced by the fact that it was a $216 million market for U.S. beef and a $57 million market for U.S. pork last year. Trade with Taiwan has suffered a setback in 2011, however, as a change in Taiwan’s testing protocol for ractopamine residues has created a very uncertain market for U.S. meat products. Much of the briefing focused on U.S. trade officials’ efforts to resolve this impasse.
After visiting a traditional Taiwanese wet market and USMEF pork tasting demonstration, the group experienced some of the island nation’s finest dining at the No 168 Prime Steakhouse – an establishment that specializes in serving dry-aged, Prime cuts of U.S. beef. The team also met importers and distributors who are major purchasers of U.S. beef and pork, and toured retail outlets in Taipei. The visit to Taiwan made a strong impression on Tom Griffiths, a grain and livestock farmer from Kendallville, Ind., who serves on the Indiana Soybean Alliance.
“To be honest, I didn’t how important this market is for U.S. agriculture until I saw it for myself,” Griffiths said. “It’s amazing to see the population density in Taiwan and how fast the economy is growing. It really drives home the importance of marketing our products here.”
On the group’s second and final day in Taiwan, the producers traveled by high-speed train to Tainan, a city of about 1.9 million residents in the southwestern portion of the island. They toured the Black Bridge Sausage processing plant before dining on U.S. steaks at the Corner Steakhouse restaurant, which was conducting one of two major U.S. beef promotions it has planned for this year.
“To be honest, I didn’t how important this market is for U.S. agriculture until I saw it for myself,” Griffiths said. “It’s amazing to see the population density in Taiwan and how fast the economy is growing. It really drives home the importance of marketing our products here.”
On the group’s second and final day in Taiwan, the producers traveled by high-speed train to Tainan, a city of about 1.9 million residents in the southwestern portion of the island. They toured the Black Bridge Sausage processing plant before dining on U.S. steaks at the Corner Steakhouse restaurant, which was conducting one of two major U.S. beef promotions it has planned for this year.
The Tainan tour concluded with a presentation from Richard K.F. Soong. A former Taiwanese ambassador to the United States, Soong is CEO of the Chi Mei Corporation, a diversified company whose frozen foods division is a major importer of U.S. pork.
“In both Taiwan and Japan, we heard time and time again from business leaders, embassy personnel and other people in positions of authority about the great job USMEF staff has done over here,” said Bruce Schmoll, treasurer for the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association and a member of the USMEF Executive Committee. “Without their help, we wouldn’t be seeing these markets expand and grow. So as a producer and a member of this delegation, I just can’t say enough good things about the job that’s being done here.”
Jim Wilkinson, sales manager with freight-forwarding company Yusen Air and Sea Service, said traveling to these two key markets with U.S. beef, pork and grain producers provided him with a broader perspective of the export business.
“It’s been a pleasure getting to know some of the people who produce the meat that we are shipping overseas, which we all know is a high-quality product,” he said. “This trip has really illustrated for me how important it is to work with foreign governments to open up these markets and communicate effectively with consumers to increase demand. Increasing demand will ultimately mean more business for all of us.”
“In both Taiwan and Japan, we heard time and time again from business leaders, embassy personnel and other people in positions of authority about the great job USMEF staff has done over here,” said Bruce Schmoll, treasurer for the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association and a member of the USMEF Executive Committee. “Without their help, we wouldn’t be seeing these markets expand and grow. So as a producer and a member of this delegation, I just can’t say enough good things about the job that’s being done here.”
Jim Wilkinson, sales manager with freight-forwarding company Yusen Air and Sea Service, said traveling to these two key markets with U.S. beef, pork and grain producers provided him with a broader perspective of the export business.
“It’s been a pleasure getting to know some of the people who produce the meat that we are shipping overseas, which we all know is a high-quality product,” he said. “This trip has really illustrated for me how important it is to work with foreign governments to open up these markets and communicate effectively with consumers to increase demand. Increasing demand will ultimately mean more business for all of us.”