Dan Halstrom discusses underutilized pork cuts during
an educational session at the Latin American Product Showcase

This year marked the sixth annual U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) Latin American Product Showcase. This year’s event was held in Panama City, Panama, and has become key for connecting exporters of U.S. beef, pork and lamb with buyers from Central and South America and the Caribbean.

120 buyers were in attendance this year representing 14 countries, and 42 USMEF member companies were on site exhibiting U.S. red meat products. Exporters participated in one-on-one meetings with buyers to discuss their specific product needs, and the event’s several educational sessions provided buyers with detailed information about the value opportunities offered by underutilized cuts of of U.S. red meat.

One factor fostering recent growth in red meat exports to Latin America is The implementation of several free trade agreements, including the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), as well as bilateral agreements with Chile, Peru, Colombia and Panama, were a hot topic this year, but USMEF senior vice president of marketing Dan Halstrom explained that capitalizing on these agreements still requires strong marketing efforts.

First-time showcase participant Sebastian Postel of Superior Farms (left)
displayed a wide range of U.S. lamb cuts for prospective customers

“FTAs have definitely reduced tariffs and eliminated many trade barriers, making U.S. products accessible to a much broader range of Latin American consumers,” Halstrom said. “But penetrating these markets still requires relationship building and education, as buyers in these emerging regions are hungry for information about our products and about our industry. That’s where an event like the Latin American Product Showcase really shines. It brings an entire hemisphere of buyers to one location and allows dozens of solid business contacts to be made in a very short period of time.”

Sami Rizk, president of Mirasco Inc., used the showcase to spotlight beef livers, which Mirasco has successfully marketed in the Middle East as an economically priced table meat and sandwich ingredient.

“In much the same way that you see hot dog carts in U.S. cities, liver sandwiches have become a very popular street food in Egypt,” Rizk said. “So Mirasco is taking the concept that was developed in Egypt and introducing it in markets here in Latin America. We believe there are similar tastes in terms of palate, and that the sandwich application has great potential in Central and South America.”