This year’s Latin American Product Showcase was held in San Juan, Puerto Rico and attracted 190 buyers from 23 countries across the Caribbean, Central America and South America. More than 60 USMEF member exporting companies participated, displaying and promoting U.S. beef, pork and lamb products over two days.
U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) President and CEO Dan Halstrom says the 2019 edition featured a mix of established customers from established markets and new customers from emerging markets in Latin America where USMEF has been working to grow demand for U.S. red meat. Halstrom acknowledges the region’s traditional taste for pork, but noted a growing consumer interest in both beef and lamb.
Veronica Leon of Texas-based Northern Beef Industries, an exporting company that has taken part in all nine Latin American Product Showcases, explains the advantages of meeting a variety of importers and talking business with them in a face-to-face setting.
Along with two days of introductions and discussions on the showcase floor, attendees learned about global meat trade and the marketing of red meat during keynote presentations.
The 2019 Latin American Product Showcase was conducted with funding support from the National Pork Board, the Beef Checkoff Program, the Nebraska Beef Council, the Texas Beef Council, the United Soybean Board and Indiana Corn.
