Nebraska Trade Rep Sees Bright Prospects in Asia for U.S. Beef, Pork

Nebraska Trade Rep Sees Bright Prospects in Asia for U.S. Beef, Pork

Having recently returned from a fact-finding trade mission to Japan, South Korea and China, Nebraska’s agricultural trade representative is optimistic about the prospects these markets hold for his state’s livestock producers. Stan Garbacz, trade representative with the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, visited USMEF operations in these three key Asian markets in February to evaluate results for Nebraska meat exports and examine ways his state can assist in achieving further growth.

 

Nebraska Agricultural Trade Representative Stan Garbacz

As representative of one of the nation’s largest beef-producing states, Garbacz is particularly excited about the prospects in South Korea now that protests surrounding reentry of U.S. beef have ended and the product is gaining wider retail and foodservice distribution.

“I feel there are definitely additional opportunities now that the market is not only open, but those peripheral activities have subsided,” Garbacz said. “Now we are able to focus on getting consumers interested and making them aware that U.S. beef is available again, and USMEF is well-positioned to do that.”

In Japan, Garbacz noted the success of USMEF programs such as the “We Care” campaign, which have helped rebuild market share for U.S. beef as well as maintain Japan’s position as the No. 1 destination for U.S. pork exports.

“USMEF has opened a lot of doors for us in this market, and we also enjoy fantastic support from state partners such as the Nebraska Beef Council in raising the profile of Nebraska products in Japan,” he said.

While not currently open to U.S. beef, China has recently emerged as a promising market for U.S. pork. Garbacz views this as an important development for his state’s pork producers and processors.

“We’ve been very fortunate in Nebraska in that we have the Farmland Foods plant (located in Crete, Neb.) that has a special area specifically for preparation of pork going to the export markets,” he said. “China has been an outstanding market for our pork exports.”

He added that Nebraska’s director of agriculture will be accompanying a team of the state’s pork industry leaders to China next month for an evaluation of the country’s pork market.

“We want our producers to not only be able to see firsthand the importance of that market for pork, but also to be able to see their product in its final form, reaching the ultimate customer,” he said.

These activities are part of Nebraska’s aggressive strategy for building overseas markets and adding value to its agricultural products – efforts strongly supported by the state’s farmers and ranchers.

“We continue to work on the international markets for all of our agricultural products, with beef and pork being a major part of that,” Garbacz said. “The producers appreciate that because they know the importance of the export markets for both pork and beef, and they know that to achieve long-term success we have to be aggressive in working these international markets.”

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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.

 

Nebraska Trade Rep Sees Bright Prospects in Asia for U.S. Beef, Pork

Having recently returned from a fact-finding trade mission to Japan, South Korea and China, Nebraska’s agricultural trade representative is optimistic about the prospects these markets hold for his state’s livestock producers. Stan Garbacz, trade representative with the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, visited USMEF operations in these three key Asian markets in February to evaluate results for Nebraska meat exports and examine ways his state can assist in achieving further growth.

 

Nebraska Agricultural Trade Representative Stan Garbacz

As representative of one of the nation’s largest beef-producing states, Garbacz is particularly excited about the prospects in South Korea now that protests surrounding reentry of U.S. beef have ended and the product is gaining wider retail and foodservice distribution.

“I feel there are definitely additional opportunities now that the market is not only open, but those peripheral activities have subsided,” Garbacz said. “Now we are able to focus on getting consumers interested and making them aware that U.S. beef is available again, and USMEF is well-positioned to do that.”

In Japan, Garbacz noted the success of USMEF programs such as the “We Care” campaign, which have helped rebuild market share for U.S. beef as well as maintain Japan’s position as the No. 1 destination for U.S. pork exports.

“USMEF has opened a lot of doors for us in this market, and we also enjoy fantastic support from state partners such as the Nebraska Beef Council in raising the profile of Nebraska products in Japan,” he said.

While not currently open to U.S. beef, China has recently emerged as a promising market for U.S. pork. Garbacz views this as an important development for his state’s pork producers and processors.

“We’ve been very fortunate in Nebraska in that we have the Farmland Foods plant (located in Crete, Neb.) that has a special area specifically for preparation of pork going to the export markets,” he said. “China has been an outstanding market for our pork exports.”

He added that Nebraska’s director of agriculture will be accompanying a team of the state’s pork industry leaders to China next month for an evaluation of the country’s pork market.

“We want our producers to not only be able to see firsthand the importance of that market for pork, but also to be able to see their product in its final form, reaching the ultimate customer,” he said.

These activities are part of Nebraska’s aggressive strategy for building overseas markets and adding value to its agricultural products – efforts strongly supported by the state’s farmers and ranchers.

“We continue to work on the international markets for all of our agricultural products, with beef and pork being a major part of that,” Garbacz said. “The producers appreciate that because they know the importance of the export markets for both pork and beef, and they know that to achieve long-term success we have to be aggressive in working these international markets.”

# # #

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.