A Beef Home Run

A Beef Home Run. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Line On Agriculture.

Recently U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) President and CEO Philip Seng joined baseball legend Nolan Ryan in hosting a team of Japanese restaurateurs for a press conference prior to the Houston Astros-Texas Rangers game. Seng said that Ryan has been involved in promoting U.S. beef to Japan for some time.

SENG: Nolan Ryan has had a tremendous interest in the Japanese market for a long time. He visited Japan back in 2007 with the opening of the market. He was part of those festivities if you will kicking it off with promotions and also with seminars. But he has his own brand, Nolan Ryan Beef and he’s done very, very well in Japan.

Ryan was not only a big sports name in U. S. baseball but in Japan as well. Seng explains that the guests of honor were Japanese restaurant execs and importers involved in promoting Ryan’s beef in Japan.

SENG: He’s partnered with a very powerful restaurant chain down in Osaka, down in the Kansai area and these restaurants are barbecue type of restaurants that they have in Osaka and in that whole area of western Japan. He’s hosting the president of the company and a lot of the managers of the various restaurants along with the importers that help bring in that product.

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy or BSE had closed the Japanese market.

That’s today’s Line On Agriculture. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.