Seminar Addresses Technical Issues for Companies Exporting Red Meat to Latin America

With support from the Beef Checkoff Program and the National Pork Board, the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) conducted an educational seminar in Laredo, Texas, designed to assist companies exporting U.S. red meat to Mexico, Central and South America and the Dominican Republic.

Latin America is a rapidly growing region for U.S. pork and beef exports, but Cheyenne McEndaffer, USMEF director of technical services/access, explains that labeling, documentation and other technical issues still present significant obstacles in several individual markets. At the seminar, McEndaffer and Alejandra Valdez, a veterinarian who serves as USMEF’s Mexico City-based technical services manager, identified and explained many of these issues and took questions from participants.

In addition to a discussion of well-established export markets, the seminar also addressed recently opened destinations such as Brazil and Argentina. Exports to these markets have been slow to develop, due in part to unique technical requirements.

Seminar participants also visited two cold storage facilities and a freight forwarder in the Laredo area and received guidance on export requirements from USDA officials.

USMEF is contractor to the Pork Checkoff and a subcontractor to the Beef Checkoff. For more information, please visit www.usmef.org.

# # #

The U.S. Meat Export Federation (www.USMEF.org) is the trade association responsible for developing international markets for the U.S. red meat industry. It is funded by USDA; the beef, pork, lamb, corn and soybean checkoff programs, as well as its members representing nine industry sectors: beef/veal producing & feeding, pork producing & feeding, lamb producing & feeding, packing & processing, purveying & trading, oilseeds producing, feedgrains producing, farm organizations and supply & service organizations.