U.S. Beef, Pork on Full Display at Asia’s Largest Food Show

U.S. Beef, Pork on Full Display at Asia’s Largest Food Show

If anyone ever questions Japan’s status as a lucrative and fiercely competitive market for food products, a visit to FoodEx would erase all doubt.

FoodEx 2010, which was held March 2-5 at the Makuhari Messe International Convention Complex in Tokyo, is the largest food trade show in the Asia Pacific region, with about 2,400 participating exhibitors from 65 countries. Nearly 75,000 importers, distributors, foodservice representatives and other buyers were in attendance at the four-day event.

U.S. pork and beef attract strong buyer interest at FoodEx 2010 in Tokyo

USMEF took advantage of the opportunity to introduce prospective customers to the packer and processor members in attendance, articulate the attributes and advantages of U.S. red meat and collect contact information from visiting attendees. Tasting demonstrations also were organized to promote the following items:

U.S. beef: yakiniku (Korean barbecue), boneless short rib, gyudon (beef rice bowl) using short plate, Philly steak using chuck eye roll and chadl begi using brisket. A special display for middle meats such as striploin, tenderloin and ribeye was also very popular with visitors from the foodservice sector.

U.S. pork: back ribs, spare ribs, bone-in loin, sliced belly, skin-on belly and seasoned pork. Fresh pork sausage, an item new to the Japanese market, was also featured.

USMEF’s participation in FoodEx was made possible through support from the Beef Checkoff and Pork Checkoff programs, as well as the Market Access Program (MAP).

Greg Hanes, USMEF assistant vice president for international marketing, said a key point of emphasis during FoodEx is to differentiate U.S. beef and pork from their chief competitors, which were present in full force.

“Almost every major food-producing country was at FoodEx and promoting its products very aggressively,” Hanes said. “Mexico has really stepped its promotion of beef and pork at FoodEx. Chile also was there promoting pork, as were the European pork producers marketing their high-quality, niche products. China and other Asian nations also were there.

“All of the Japanese providers were exhibiting at FoodEx as well, promoting items such as domestic pork and domestic Wagyu beef,” Hanes continued. “So it’s not just an event for imported products but also for items produced in Japan.”

Not surprisingly, Japan’s 21-month cattle age limit on imports of U.S. beef was a hot topic among Japanese importers attending FoodEx.

“The importers and distributors are definitely looking for greater supplies from the United States,” Hanes said. “So there is a lot of interest in gaining some relief from the age limit and wider access to U.S. beef supplies.”

Hanes emphasized, however, that FoodEx is not limited to buyers from Japan. He met with representatives from a wide range of countries at this year’s event.

“There were a lot of Koreans present this year, and we were able to provide them with samples and information, as well as to channel them to our office in Seoulfor ongoing support,” he said. “Some representatives from China were very interested in high-quality U.S. beef and pork, even though they have very limited access right now. I also met with key buyers from Singapore and Indonesia who were looking for products in the high-end restaurant category. So there was really a full range of prospective buyers present and many opportunities to develop new business contacts across the Asia Pacific region.”

# # #

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.

For more information, contact Jim Herlihy at jherlihy@usmef.org.

USMEF complies with all equal opportunity, non-discrimination and affirmative action measures applicable to it by contract, government rule or regulation or as otherwise provided by law.

U.S. Beef, Pork on Full Display at Asia’s Largest Food Show

If anyone ever questions Japan’s status as a lucrative and fiercely competitive market for food products, a visit to FoodEx would erase all doubt.

FoodEx 2010, which was held March 2-5 at the Makuhari Messe International Convention Complex in Tokyo, is the largest food trade show in the Asia Pacific region, with about 2,400 participating exhibitors from 65 countries. Nearly 75,000 importers, distributors, foodservice representatives and other buyers were in attendance at the four-day event.

U.S. pork and beef attract strong buyer interest at FoodEx 2010 in Tokyo

USMEF took advantage of the opportunity to introduce prospective customers to the packer and processor members in attendance, articulate the attributes and advantages of U.S. red meat and collect contact information from visiting attendees. Tasting demonstrations also were organized to promote the following items:

U.S. beef: yakiniku (Korean barbecue), boneless short rib, gyudon (beef rice bowl) using short plate, Philly steak using chuck eye roll and chadl begi using brisket. A special display for middle meats such as striploin, tenderloin and ribeye was also very popular with visitors from the foodservice sector.

U.S. pork: back ribs, spare ribs, bone-in loin, sliced belly, skin-on belly and seasoned pork. Fresh pork sausage, an item new to the Japanese market, was also featured.

USMEF’s participation in FoodEx was made possible through support from the Beef Checkoff and Pork Checkoff programs, as well as the Market Access Program (MAP).

Greg Hanes, USMEF assistant vice president for international marketing, said a key point of emphasis during FoodEx is to differentiate U.S. beef and pork from their chief competitors, which were present in full force.

“Almost every major food-producing country was at FoodEx and promoting its products very aggressively,” Hanes said. “Mexico has really stepped its promotion of beef and pork at FoodEx. Chile also was there promoting pork, as were the European pork producers marketing their high-quality, niche products. China and other Asian nations also were there.

“All of the Japanese providers were exhibiting at FoodEx as well, promoting items such as domestic pork and domestic Wagyu beef,” Hanes continued. “So it’s not just an event for imported products but also for items produced in Japan.”

Not surprisingly, Japan’s 21-month cattle age limit on imports of U.S. beef was a hot topic among Japanese importers attending FoodEx.

“The importers and distributors are definitely looking for greater supplies from the United States,” Hanes said. “So there is a lot of interest in gaining some relief from the age limit and wider access to U.S. beef supplies.”

Hanes emphasized, however, that FoodEx is not limited to buyers from Japan. He met with representatives from a wide range of countries at this year’s event.

“There were a lot of Koreans present this year, and we were able to provide them with samples and information, as well as to channel them to our office in Seoulfor ongoing support,” he said. “Some representatives from China were very interested in high-quality U.S. beef and pork, even though they have very limited access right now. I also met with key buyers from Singapore and Indonesia who were looking for products in the high-end restaurant category. So there was really a full range of prospective buyers present and many opportunities to develop new business contacts across the Asia Pacific region.”

# # #

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.

For more information, contact Jim Herlihy at jherlihy@usmef.org.

USMEF complies with all equal opportunity, non-discrimination and affirmative action measures applicable to it by contract, government rule or regulation or as otherwise provided by law.