Working with the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council (USAPEEC), the U.S. Mea...

Working with the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council (USAPEEC), the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) organized a team visit from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to tour U.S. beef and poultry plants.  An official delegation from the UAE arrived in Washington, D.C. on September 26 to review the procedures used by Islamic centers to certify as halal meat and poultry for export to the UAE.

Most Islamic countries, including the UAE, use Islamic centers to ensure that the meat they import fulfills the obligations required by Islam. The Islamic centers need specific endorsement from the UAE government to approve exports to the Persian Gulf state. The delegation met with USDA representatives and visited a beef plant to see the USDA inspection system at work, since the UAE has a ban on U.S. beef imports due to the lone case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in the United States, discovered in December 2003.

The team, which included the Dubai head of veterinary control, the deputy secretary general, General Secretariat of Municipalities and a senior veterinarian with the ministry of agriculture, visited Islamic centers in the Washington, D.C. area, Nebraska, Georgia, California, and Iowa.

The UAE is part of the Persian Gulf Customs Union, which came into being on January 1, 2003. The other members are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The customs union states are collectively working on harmonizing their food related safety standards by 2005. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick is visiting both the UAE and Oman next week to explore the possibility of bilateral free trade agreement negotiations that might lead to a Middle East Free Trade Area by 2013. Chilled beef imported by Union members is exempt from all duty, while frozen beef is subject to a 5 percent duty.

The team finishes its inspection tour and returns to the UAE on Saturday, October 9. After the team reports to the UAE government, USMEF hopes for favorable results from the visit for U.S. beef producers and exporters.

The UAE imports food from more than 90 countries and is a growing market for high value food products. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that 60 percent of the UAE’s food imports are re-exported. In 2003, the United States exported 1,079 metric tons of beef products to the UAE, valued at $8.6 million.

In 2003, the Middle East was the sixth largest market for U.S. beef exports. The United States exported 40,635 metric tons of beef (including variety meat) to the region, valued at $80.5 million. To Egypt alone, an important market for U.S. beef livers, the U.S. exported 30,915 metric tons of beef products.

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 –

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Photo: USMEF Director, Industry Relations John Hinners (second from left) poses with UAE team members