USMEF promotes beef trade to South China restaurants
The U.S. Meat Export Federation has developed a partnership with a Guangzhou, China-based meat importer and distributor to test the market feasibility of supplying consistently sized portions of U.S. beef to restaurants in South China.
“Because the cuts are uniform in size and quality, buyers can rely on them to produce regular sales and a consistent profit,” USMEF said. “The importer/distributor offers these U.S. beef cuts to western-style restaurants, a rapidly expanding segment of South China’s food service industry.”
The USMEF program receives funds through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Quality Samples Program.
Although China is the fourth-largest producer of beef in the world, its domestic industry cannot provide the high-quality beef that’s demanded by China’s tourist industry and urban consumers, USMEF said.
According to USMEF, China (including Hong Kong) is the fifth-largest export market for U.S. beef in 2002. That year the United States sold 39,788 metric tons of meat to China.