Perdue, Branstad Help Launch U.S. Beef’s Return to China

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad and several U.S. beef industry leaders helped launch U.S. beef’s return to China for the first time since the December 2003 BSE case. Speaking at a June 30 media reception in Beijing, both Perdue and Branstad expressed a firm commitment to providing Chinese consumers with a safe, high-quality product. Perdue also paid tribute to U.S. cattle producers for making it possible to supply wholesome, delicious beef to customers throughout the world. Joel Haggard, U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) senior vice president for the Asia Pacific, adds that while the available supply of U.S. beef eligible for the Chinese market is limited in the near term, early demand for the product is very encouraging. More details and photos from the Beijing event, which was funded through support from the Nebraska Beef Council, are available from the USMEF website. On July 1, Perdue distributed samples of U.S. beef to customers at a City Super supermarket in Shanghai. Photos from this USMEF promotion, which was also funded through support from the Nebraska Beef Council, are available here: U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue at the City Super meat case in Shanghai Secretary Perdue cooks U.S. beef samples at City Super Secretary Perdue serves U.S. beef to City Super customers

TRANSCRIPT:

Joe Schuele: In this U.S. Meat Export Federation report, we hear from officials who helped launch U.S. beef's return to China for the first time since 2003. Here's U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad:

Terry Branstad: We've been waiting nearly 14 years for this, and we want to thank the Chinese for their work on this, and we want to thank the meat export federation and many, many other people that worked so hard to make this happen. The return of U.S. beef to China is an example of how cooperation between our two countries can yield real results.

Joe Schuele: U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Purdue expressed his commitment to the Chinese market and paid tribute to U.S. cattle producers:

Sonny Purdue: On behalf of President Trump and the people of America, we want to say thank you to our great customers here in China. We want to respect your market and assure you that these products coming in are safe, wholesome and very delicious. For those men and women who go out in the cold and birth those calves and help those Momma cows deliver, we want to thank you for what you do in order to make this possible. I am convinced when our Chinese friends taste this tasty wholesome, healthy, safe U.S. beef, they're going to want more of it, so you all had better get some more cows.

Joe Schuele: USMEF senior vice president Joel Haggard said the early signs look encouraging for U.S. beef demand in China:

Joel Haggard: We have a long way to go to develop what we hope will be much larger sales and exports, but we are quite encouraged by the initial response to U.S. beef. Product first hit the virtual shelves of a prominent ecommerce site a week ago, and bricks-and-mortar retail sales began yesterday with high-end supermarket operator City Super putting some U.S. beef on the shelves of one of its Shanghai stores, and Sam's Club announced the availability of product in one of its Beijing outlets. Although supplies remain quite limited, I'm quite confident we'll start to see more and more end users feature U.S. beef in the coming weeks.

Joe Schuele: For more, please visit USMEF.org. For the U.S. Meat Export Federation, I’m Joe Schuele.