When it comes to beef promotion, international demand has become a significant driver. A lot of states are dedicating more funding to special projects to sell more beef overseas. U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) President and CEO Phil Seng said international markets are a good investment with 95 percent of the world’s consumers living outside the United States.
“The international market place presents tremendous potential,” Seng said. “All of these growing middle classes want to evolve from the cereals to the proteins.”
By 2030, 60 percent of the world’s middle class will be located in Asia. The U.S. is currently negotiating the terms of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement. Seng said those 12 countries represent 70 percent of the world’s purchases of meat products and that demand will grow as their economies improve.
In building relationships with international customers, Seng said it’s important to begin the work early on. A prime example can be found in Japan. Seng began as the country director for USMEF in Japan in the 1980's. Since that time, Japan’s loyalty to U.S. meat products has changed a great deal. Japan was primarily a commodity market. Seng said today there is a lot of differentiation of product and many states and packers have their own branded products in that market.
Today Japan imports about $2 million dollars' worth of beef and $2 million dollars of pork annually from the U.S. While the population of Japan is declining, Seng is optimistic for Japan’s future growth with an increasing number of tourists. Japan will host the Olympics in 2020 and he believes that’s a great opportunity for the food service markets.
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