USMEF Cold Chain Project Begins With Two-Day Seminar And Training Course in Beijing...

Expanding U.S. red meat exports to existing, developing markets is a complex process demanding intricate local knowledge of a number of interlocking conditions, and an understanding of buying habits and competition.

In new or undeveloped markets, however, the challenges may be even more fundamental, according to the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).

In these situations, answering basic questions is critical to success. For example: Can frozen or chilled imports of U.S. beef and pork be distributed, transported and stored at the correct temperature? In many regions, the answer is, “no.”

To address this issue, USMEF recently launched its “cold chain project” in Beijing, seeing it as the best way to increase U.S. meat exports to China, a market with many constraints, but almost unlimited potential. A working cold chain system will be a tool to promote U.S. beef and pork, and the safety of the U.S. food system and its entire supply chain. USMEF intends to build customer confidence in U.S. meat products by introducing buyers and distributors to U.S. food safety practices and proper methods of handling.

The USMEF-managed cold chain project is funded through the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service Market Access Program Global Based Initiative. The USA Poultry & Egg Export Council (USAPEEC) also is participating in the activity. USMEF will use the expertise of the World Food Logistics Organization (WFLO), a non-profit organization dedicated to the proper handling and storage of perishable products and the development of systems and best practices for the safe, efficient, and reliable movement of food to the people of the world, to implement this project in selected regions of China, Central and South America and Mexico.

The recent two-day program, held in conjunction with the Food & Hotel China trade show in Beijing, featured international food processing, association development and warehouse operations experts working alongside local distribution and perishable foods specialists to train more than 120 local members of the perishable foods industry.   A full-day seminar at the food show, which included USMEF Assistant Director, Export Services Kevin Smith speaking on recent technical developments in the meat industry, was followed by two onsite training programs for seminar participants. 

“These types of programs provide a critical link in the information transfer between the U.S. and China, and represent an important contribution to the global trade environment,” says LaVerne Brabant, Director of the U.S. Agricultural Trade Office in Beijing, who hosted the event.

But the customer confidence USMEF aims to achieve in China must be founded on reality, so it is essential to enhance the fresh, chilled and frozen warehousing and distribution industry to assure Chinese consumers that U.S. products are properly handled once they arrive.  USMEF believes the cold chain project will reduce the millions of dollars of product losses in ports, cold storage, transportation, and in other points of the cold chain.  At the same time, by ensuring the cold chain, millions of dollars in market development funding will not be wasted.

“Importers in China who are handling valuable meat and other perishable import products are aware of the importance of the cold chain and most endeavor to control it during importation and distribution,” says USMEF Vice President for Asia Pacific Joel Haggard, who attended the seminar. “On the other hand, an understanding of the cold chain does not necessarily mean effective implementation.  Most product abuse occurs at the end of the chain, especially in wet markets, at wholesalers and by consumers themselves.”

In most countries, there are existing cold storage distribution systems in major ports and cities. The challenge, according to Haggard, is to extend these resources into other areas of the country. Refrigerated warehouse operators are reluctant to invest heavily in uncertain markets overseas if they cannot see a clear trend in increased use. He adds that USMEF has learned, during more than a quarter century of marketing U.S. meat abroad, that local knowledge is vital. The cold chain project will tackle the many weak links in the cold chain and identify a pattern of problems in handling practices which make it very difficult to receive, deliver, and sell value-added refrigerated and frozen products. USMEF will meet these needs head-on by providing cold chain-specific information, follow-up, follow-through, and association support.

Haggard also believes that the relationships, distribution networks and logistical services that will develop also will result in increased imports of U.S. value-added products.   The success of the cold chain project will depend on partnerships forged by USMEF-China with the local cold chain association, the USDA and the WFLO. By also working with the International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses (IARW), and USAPEEC, Haggard says an efficient leverage of funding is possible since poultry exports to China face the same refrigeration restraints as red meat.   The WFLO will provide the education, training and network services for fresh, chilled and frozen foods for U.S. exporters.  By assisting in-country food associations train food industry personnel in proper receiving, storage and food handling practices, USMEF will boost their capacity to import meat and meat products from the U.S. 

The cold chain project also will evaluate local conditions, obtain intelligence on current capacity and provide technical training to ensure that the cold chain will be able to support increased U.S. exports. The WFLO will carry out technical assistance programs, evaluate China’s cold storage facilities, develop a directory of cold storage operations, develop Chinese-language textbooks on successful refrigerated warehousing, provide CD-ROM based training programs, and conduct training seminars to address the importance of food safety issues, bio security, sanitation, and HACCP programs.

China has an almost untapped reservoir of longstanding goodwill and receptiveness toward American products. Haggard says establishing and ensuring a reliable cold chain will help U.S. food manufacturers to develop contacts with qualified agents and learn more about China’s interest in and capacity to buy U.S. products. The relationships, distribution networks and logistics connections that develop from this project also will increase imports of value-added products.

U.S. beef and pork (including variety meat) exports from the U.S. to China totaled 96,824 metric tons, valued at $179.1 million in 2003, prior to a Chinese ban on U.S. beef.   U.S. pork (including variety meat) exports to China are up 32 percent to 36,305 metric tons, valued at $42.4 million, in the first five months of 2005.   This increased growth demonstrates the need for the cold chain project, Haggard notes, since fresh, chilled and frozen meat products are often subject to improper storage conditions upon arrival in these markets, resulting in food quality and safety concerns that may get blamed on the U.S. exporter, when in fact they are local problems.  These quality and safety issues could easily become a constraint to increasing U.S. meat exports that may result in negative perceptions of U.S. products. The cold chain project is designed to prevent this.

The U.S. Meat Export Federation 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, sorghum and soybean checkoff programs.

– USMEF –

Photos for use with this release:

Photo 1: Attendees at the WFLO cold storage half-day training program at a local cold storage warehouse line up for a group photo.

Photo 2: The two-day cold storage program was held in conjunction with Food & Hotel China Beijing.