Demand for Chilled U.S. Beef Continues to Soar in Taiwan

Joel Haggard, U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) senior vice president for the Asia Pacific, recently joined USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom for a series of visits with importers and other key buyers in Taiwan, which is one of the leading destinations for U.S. chilled beef. Last year the U.S. beef industry exported a record $409.7 million of product to Taiwan, up 13 percent from the previous year, and captured 72 percent of the chilled beef market – the highest of any Asian destination.

In the attached audio report, Haggard explains some of the factors driving the success of U.S. beef in Taiwan. He says the prospects for further growth are excellent, given Taiwanese consumers’ propensity for dining out and the wide range of restaurants and retail outlets featuring U.S. chilled beef.

Through the first two months of 2018, beef exports to Taiwan have shown no signs of a slowdown. January-February exports were up 25 percent from a year ago in volume (8,106 metric tons) and 42 percent in value ($78.2 million). Chilled exports soared 53 percent in volume (3,800 metric tons) and 61 percent in value ($48 million).

TRANSCRIPT:

Joe Schuele: In this U.S. Meat Export Federation report, Senior Vice President for the Asia Pacific Joel Haggard reports from Taiwan, where demand for U.S. beef continues to soar.

Joe Haggard: Last year Taiwan was the sixth largest market for U.S. beef, in value terms, with over $400 million in shipments there. That’s quite a performance for an area with just 23 million or so in population. What’s interesting, though, is that the average price-per-pound product shipped to Taiwan is higher than all other markets, except the Netherlands, which as we all know must pay a high price for the non-hormone treated beef that we send there. But on the ground here in Taiwan it’s easy to see consumers and restaurants and the retail stores that serve that consumer base have developed a clear preference for chilled U.S. beef. The U.S. enjoys over 70 percent market share for chilled beef, and that’s much higher than any other Asian market by quite a margin. Steakhouses tout their wet-aged U.S. steaks, retail giants like Costco and PX Mart all highlight at the meat case their chilled U.S. beef supply. Even traditional food markets use chilled U.S. beef.

Joe Schuele: Haggard says the prospects for further beef export growth to Taiwan looks excellent.

Joel Haggard: Taiwan looks promising for future gains for U.S. beef exports. The island is almost entirely depended on imports for its beef supply. And the new generation of millennials loves to eat beef, either a steak, or in Korean barbecue houses, hot pot restaurants, even as burgers when they dine out – and they dine out often. When USMEF established its office in Taiwan in 1989, almost 30 years ago now, surveys showed that almost a quarter of the population or more didn’t eat beef at all. The record total beef imports for the past three years straight are evidence of the increasing overall beef consumption. We’ve been looking at numbers during Quarter One this year and they suggest that we’re in for another record beef import year in 2018.

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