A regular Monday dish in Yucatecan homes is "frijoles con puerco" m...

A regular Monday dish in Yucatecan homes is "frijoles con puerco" made with chunks of pork cooked with black beans and served over rice with radish, cilantro and onion garnish.

There are many other traditional pork dishes in Yucatan, one of the 31 states in Mexico, located on the north of the YucatanPeninsula, which is why the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) singled out the area to increase brand recognition and sales of U.S. pork.

USMEF is encouraging purchases of U.S. pork at major retail stores in the Yucatan capital city of Merida by rewarding consumers purchasing 10 kilograms of selected U.S. pork cuts with two complimentary tickets to a live show featuring stars from a popular Mexican TV show called “La Hora Pico” or “Peak Hour”.

For each kilogram of U.S. pork Boston butt, boneless leg and “milanesa” (thinly-cut pork steak) cuts purchased at Gigante, San Francisco and Chedraui retail stores, consumers receive a coupon worth one point.

When consumers collect 10 points, they can turn in their coupons for two tickets to the entertainment show scheduled for August 12 at the Twenty-First Century Convention Center in Merida.

The festive event will start off with Gilberto Lozano, USMEF-Mexico director, highlighting the nutritional advantages and high quality of U.S. pork. U.S. pork supplies important vitamins and minerals such as thiamin, vitamin B-12, phosphorus, niacin and zinc. These vitamins and minerals help the body use energy from food and fight off infection.

“We have created a new trend in Mexico. People are starting to believe pork is a healthy choice,” Lozano said. “USMEF-Mexico promotions and advertising are helping Mexican consumers see pork as healthy, low in fat and a good protein source – it’s the other white meat.”

Following the informative presentation, USMEF will welcome Consuelo Duval and Victor Castrejon, comedians from “La Hora Pico”, the Mexican equivalent of “Saturday Night Live,” to entertain the crowd as way of thanking them for choosing U.S. pork, a healthy and safe protein, for use in traditional dishes and daily meals.

There are 25 retail stores participating in the promotion, which started in July and is funded in part by the South Dakota Soybean Research & Promotion Council and the Iowa Soybean Promotion Board.

Gustavo Castano, USMEF retail manager in Mexico, reports many consumers have already turned in their coupons for event tickets. Retailers San Francisco and Gigante continue to highlight the event in their weekly advertisement flyers while point-of-sale posters and displays direct consumers to U.S. pork at the stores.

“We launched a new campaign at the beginning of the year called “El Cerdo es Bueno” or “Pork is Good”. It appeals to families wanting to provide good nutrition for their children,” Lozano said. “The current activity in Yucatan fits in perfectly with the “El Cerdo es Bueno” campaign since it identifies U.S. pork as a healthy and nutritional protein that can be used in traditional Yucatecan dishes in addition to quick-serve meals.”

In 2004, one of out of every three tons of U.S. pork and pork variety meat exported went to Mexico, the No. 1 volume market. For the fifth consecutive year, new dollar and tonnage records were set for U.S. pork and pork variety meat exports to Mexico with exports of 361,587 metric tons (mt), up 65 percent over 2003, and $566.5 million, up 92 percent.

From January through May of this year, U.S. pork and pork variety meat exports to Mexico are keeping pace as volume is relatively unchanged at 129,926 mt and value has increased slightly to $199.8 million over the same period last year.

The U.S. Meat Export Federation is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the U.S. red meat industry and is funded by USDA, exporting companies, and the beef, pork, corn, sorghum and soybean checkoff programs.

– USMEF –

The following photos are available for use with this release:

Photo 1 – U.S. pork packaged with point coupons on display at Gigante, one of the participating retail stores partnering with USMEF to encourage purchases of U.S. pork. Consumers had to collect 10 coupon points to receive two complimentary tickets to an entertainment show scheduled for August 12.

Photo 2 – “El Cerdo es Bueno” or “Pork is Good” poster used at Gigante, San Francisco and Chedraui retail stores in the Yucatan capital city of Merida to draw shoppers’ attention to U.S. pork.