Disruptions are everywhere. African swine fever could devastate an entire country’s domestic pork industry. A pandemic can lockdown countries and much of the world. Russia’s attack on Ukraine has led to continued unrest with food insecurities and the unknown.
To build resilience, it’s increasingly important for the U.S. pork industry to have options.
Courtney Knupp, vice president of international markets for the National Pork Board (NPB), recently joined “AgriTalk” to discuss the many options the NPB strives to create for the U.S. pork market.
Export Market
China continues to hold the title as the largest producer and consumer of pork, but when African swine fever devastated China’s hog and pork supply, U.S. exports were able to capitalize on the opportunity and reach record high exports for the year.
However, as China rebuilds their herd and there is less dependence on the U.S. supply, Knupp explains cultivating other export markets is a continuous task for NPB.
“Our strategy is focused on creating strong relationships with multiple markets to give us as many options to pivot as global dynamics occur and to maximize the value in the product mix,” Knupp says.
The Western Hemisphere, Southeast Asia and China will continue to be markets of priority for NPB, she adds.
Product Diversity
Typical pork products in the U.S., such as pork sausage, pepperoni, ground pork and fresh pork cuts, tend to come to mind first in terms of pork meat consumption.
Meanwhile, other parts of the hog not traditionally consumed in the U.S. have a great opportunity to be utilized in other parts of the world.
“Those internal variety meats and internal organs, we just don’t consume those here. However, countries in Latin America and Southeast Asia love those. Oftentimes they pay more per unit for an internal organ than they do for what we see as the gold standard as the pork loin, so that is a huge value,” Knupp explains. “In fact, this year in 2022, we saw record value attributed to these products, variety meats and internal organs. That was a huge boon to the carcass and the value that producers get for what they produce.”
Market Research
Taking a “boots on the ground” approach, the NPB along with the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) have been present in many of the key markets, building supplier relationships, promoting U.S. meat products and advancing products from foodservice to retail and frozen to fresh.
This market research has been valuable in gaining the sense of each country’s culture, needs and wants.
Knupp explains the U.S. pork brand does matter to consumers across the globe, as the “image of Americana” is something they often gravitate towards. For example, barbeque has become a huge trend and sharing that story and experience across the globe has added value to the market.
A recent trip to Chile focused on understanding the domestic and import opportunities within the country, Knupp says. “We wanted to thoroughly explore and see how we can better position our products, build relationships and bring forth value that might actually increase pork consumption.”
The Pork Checkoff dollar has made many of these market research trips possible, Knupp notes.
“When we give $1 to promote U.S. pork abroad to the U.S. Meat Export Federation, they get a matching dollar from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and their market access program. So, we double our money and get to really showcase that U.S. pork, just as other commodities do, as well,” she says.
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