Audio: Caribbean Buyers Impressed with All Aspects of U.S. Meat Industry
Published: Mar 29, 2011
USMEF recently hosted nine retail meat buyers from the Caribbean,
which has developed into a very strong market for U.S. beef and pork.
In 2010, beef exports to the region totaled $103 million – a 28 percent
increase over the previous year. Pork exports also achieved robust growth,
increasing 19 percent to $92.6 million. Over the past five years, export value
to the Caribbean has increased by 75 percent for U.S. beef and 90 percent
for U.S. pork.
Critical to this rapid growth has been the expansion of U.S. beef and pork’s
presence beyond the high-end tourism and foodservice industries and into
the retail meat case. The region’s supermarket sector is becoming more
modern and sophisticated, and buyers are looking for high-quality fresh meat
offerings that will appeal to the local population. Capitalizing on those
opportunities for U.S. beef and pork was the objective of the retail buyers
team visit.
The group experienced every segment of U.S. meat production, visiting
ranches, feedlots and beef and pork processing plants in Texas and
Oklahoma. They also participated in a “Beef and Pork 101” course at West
Texas A&M University and observed a cutting demonstration that introduced
them to newly developed cuts of beef and pork.
Vernon Persad is owner of Persad’s “D” Food King grocery stores in Trinidad.
He is also president of the 300-member Supermarkets’ Association of
Trinidad and Tobago. In the attached audio report, Persad says he was
tremendously impressed with the care and dedication he observed at U.S.
livestock operations and with the quality products available from U.S.
processors. As a result of the visit, he plans to become a strong advocate
for bringing more U.S. beef and pork into Trinidad and Tobago.
Buyers from Aruba, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Dominica,
Jamaica and the Turks and Caicos Islands also participated.
which has developed into a very strong market for U.S. beef and pork.
In 2010, beef exports to the region totaled $103 million – a 28 percent
increase over the previous year. Pork exports also achieved robust growth,
increasing 19 percent to $92.6 million. Over the past five years, export value
to the Caribbean has increased by 75 percent for U.S. beef and 90 percent
for U.S. pork.
Critical to this rapid growth has been the expansion of U.S. beef and pork’s
presence beyond the high-end tourism and foodservice industries and into
the retail meat case. The region’s supermarket sector is becoming more
modern and sophisticated, and buyers are looking for high-quality fresh meat
offerings that will appeal to the local population. Capitalizing on those
opportunities for U.S. beef and pork was the objective of the retail buyers
team visit.
The group experienced every segment of U.S. meat production, visiting
ranches, feedlots and beef and pork processing plants in Texas and
Oklahoma. They also participated in a “Beef and Pork 101” course at West
Texas A&M University and observed a cutting demonstration that introduced
them to newly developed cuts of beef and pork.
Vernon Persad is owner of Persad’s “D” Food King grocery stores in Trinidad.
He is also president of the 300-member Supermarkets’ Association of
Trinidad and Tobago. In the attached audio report, Persad says he was
tremendously impressed with the care and dedication he observed at U.S.
livestock operations and with the quality products available from U.S.
processors. As a result of the visit, he plans to become a strong advocate
for bringing more U.S. beef and pork into Trinidad and Tobago.
Buyers from Aruba, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Dominica,
Jamaica and the Turks and Caicos Islands also participated.