U.S. Beef, Pork Shine at Food & Hotel Vietnam

U.S. Beef, Pork Shine at Food & Hotel Vietnam

U.S. beef and pork were recently showcased in one of the world’s fastest-growing and most competitive meat export markets at the Food & Hotel Vietnam 2009 trade show held at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center in Ho Chi Minh City.

The three-day, biennial event drew more than 300 exhibitors from 30 countries and attracted nearly 8,000 visitors. Attendance was especially strong from restaurant and hotel representatives from Vietnam’s major cities and the neighboring countries in the ASEAN region. With support from the beef checkoff and pork checkoff programs, a wide range of U.S. beef and pork products was on display at the USMEF booth in the U.S.A. pavilion. USMEF also distributed informational brochures and fact sheets on U.S. beef and pork.

Visitors sample U.S. beef and pork items at Food & Hotel Vietnam 2009

“At first we saw some resistance to the pork items due to the H1N1 influenza situation,” said Sabrina Yin, USMEF ASEAN director. “But USMEF was able to covey our strong pork safety messages and dispel this persistent misinformation. Our visitors came away very impressed with the quality and flavor of our fresh pork items as well as the pre-cooked and processed products.”

After surging in 2008, U.S. pork exports to Vietnam leveled off this year. Through August, pork plus pork variety meat exports to Vietnam reached 5,144 metric tons (11.3 million pounds) valued at $7.73 million. While this is a dramatic decline from the same period in 2008 (-67 percent in volume and -76 percent in value), it’s still an increase of about 75 percent over the whole of 2007.

U.S. beef exports to Vietnam have fared extremely well in 2009. January-August beef plus beef variety meat exports to Vietnam totaled 32,229 metric tons (71 million pounds) valued at nearly $103 million – a 28 percent increase in volume and a 41 percent increase in value over the same period in 2008. Among major U.S. beef export markets, only Hong Kong has achieved a higher rate of growth this year.

“Vietnam has shown exceptional growth and is now really well-established as a major destination for U.S. beef,” Yin said. “And while the pork numbers are down from the highs we achieved last year, we feel Vietnam is becoming a very reliable market for U.S. pork as well.”

The next Food & Hotel Vietnam trade show will be held in September 2011 at the same location.

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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.

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 Shine at Food & Hotel Vietnam

U.S. beef and pork were recently showcased in one of the world’s fastest-growing and most competitive meat export markets at the Food & Hotel Vietnam 2009 trade show held at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center in Ho Chi Minh City.

The three-day, biennial event drew more than 300 exhibitors from 30 countries and attracted nearly 8,000 visitors. Attendance was especially strong from restaurant and hotel representatives from Vietnam’s major cities and the neighboring countries in the ASEAN region. With support from the beef checkoff and pork checkoff programs, a wide range of U.S. beef and pork products was on display at the USMEF booth in the U.S.A. pavilion. USMEF also distributed informational brochures and fact sheets on U.S. beef and pork.

Visitors sample U.S. beef and pork items at Food & Hotel Vietnam 2009

“At first we saw some resistance to the pork items due to the H1N1 influenza situation,” said Sabrina Yin, USMEF ASEAN director. “But USMEF was able to covey our strong pork safety messages and dispel this persistent misinformation. Our visitors came away very impressed with the quality and flavor of our fresh pork items as well as the pre-cooked and processed products.”

After surging in 2008, U.S. pork exports to Vietnam leveled off this year. Through August, pork plus pork variety meat exports to Vietnam reached 5,144 metric tons (11.3 million pounds) valued at $7.73 million. While this is a dramatic decline from the same period in 2008 (-67 percent in volume and -76 percent in value), it’s still an increase of about 75 percent over the whole of 2007.

U.S. beef exports to Vietnam have fared extremely well in 2009. January-August beef plus beef variety meat exports to Vietnam totaled 32,229 metric tons (71 million pounds) valued at nearly $103 million – a 28 percent increase in volume and a 41 percent increase in value over the same period in 2008. Among major U.S. beef export markets, only Hong Kong has achieved a higher rate of growth this year.

“Vietnam has shown exceptional growth and is now really well-established as a major destination for U.S. beef,” Yin said. “And while the pork numbers are down from the highs we achieved last year, we feel Vietnam is becoming a very reliable market for U.S. pork as well.”

The next Food & Hotel Vietnam trade show will be held in September 2011 at the same location.

# # #

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.