Beef Trade 2025 Pt 2
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson. Faced with many challenges, U.S. meat producers continue to search for markets to sell their products. And a big target is the many different Asian markets.
Dan Halstrom, President and CEO at the U.S. Meat Export
Federation, says for instance, Japan and Korea are still recovering from COVID, but a recent boost in tourism is encouraging …
HALSTROM … “But you’re exactly right. You look at Southeast Asia, you look at places like Indonesia and Malaysia. Indonesia, especially for beef, is a large opportunity that we haven’t realized. I mean, there’s access issues, there’s plant registration issues, there’s always a lot of issues. But the opportunity is there.”
And trade agreements, Halstrom says are a great benefit …
HALSTROM … “You know, you’ve got USMCA. By far, our largest block of trade business is Canada and Mexico. So, we need to protect that and maximize that opportunity. And quite frankly, USMCA came from the Trump Administration the first time around. So, I think we’re optimistic about maintaining and growing on that.”
Which means, Halstrom says protect what you have …
HALSTROM … “And we could use more free trade agreements, that’s a totally different discussion, but let’s protect what we have. Because, I think, and I’m just looking from a beef and pork lens, but I think if you ask the soybean and corn guys, in a lot of cases, this has worked to a lot of people’s benefits.”
That’s Dan Halstrom, President and CEO at the U.S. Meat Export Federation.
