USMEF Members Meet Buyers at Mexico's Major Trade Shows

Presented every two years by COMECARNE (the Mexican Meat Council), Expocarnes is one of the most popular meat industry trade shows in Latin America. The 47th edition of Expocarnes, held earlier this month in Monterrey, Mexico, drew more than 4,200 meat industry professionals over three days. USMEF members exhibiting at the event were especially pleased with the turnout of buyers from outlying regions of Mexico and from other Central and South American markets – contacts that are difficult to make outside of a major event such as this. Participation in Expocarnes was made possible through support from the Pork Checkoff and the Beef Checkoff Program. USMEF is a contractor to both programs.

Meat industry representatives gather at the USMEF pavilion at Expocarnes 2013 in Monterrey, Mexico

“Our member companies and USMEF staff made important contacts during Expocarnes and cultivated a lot of new business,” said Chad Russell, USMEF Regional Director for Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Central America. “But there is also a significant educational benefit to this event as we gathered a great deal of information and market intelligence about trends in domestic production, consumption and consumer demand.”

Russell was a featured speaker, providing a well-attended presentation entitled, “Meat Industry in the World, Projections 2013.” USMEF also participated in an educational pavilion designed to educate attendees and their families about all aspects of meat production and the nutritional benefits pork and beef contribute toward a healthy diet. The educational pavilion was also a popular venue for distributing pork and beef samples.

Mexico’s rapidly expanding retail sector will be the focus when USMEF participates next month in ANTAD 2013, an annual exhibition sponsored by the Mexican Retail Chains Association. This event will be held in Guadalajara March 13-15, with more than 35,000 retail industry representatives expected to attend. USMEF’s participation in ANTAD 2013 is also made possible through the Beef Checkoff Program and the Pork Checkoff.

Now in its 30th year, ANTAD attracts a diverse range of retail chain operators and suppliers

“USMEF will obviously be targeting supermarket representatives at ANTAD, as we look to further expand the presence of U.S. pork and beef in the meat case,” Russell said. “But another exciting aspect of ANTAD is that it attracts a diverse range of retailers. Convenience stores, drugstores and specialty shops have captured a significant share of the retail food market in recent years and these are contacts of increasing importance for our member companies.”

Mexico was the leading volume market for both U.S. pork and beef exports in 2012. Pork exports to Mexico set a new annual record of 600,949 metric tons valued at $1.13 billion – increasing by 12 percent in volume and 8 percent in value over 2011. Beef exports were lower than the previous year, but still totaled 192,989 metric tons valued at $822.4 million. (All totals include both muscle cuts and variety meat.)