U.S. Beef’s Interest in EU Reaffirmed at TuttoFood Trade Show in Milan

Ngày 23/06/2017

Demonstrating U.S. beef’s continued interest in the European retail sector, USMEF partnered with Giraudi, one of the region’s largest importers and distributors, to promote U.S. beef at the TuttoFood show in Milan, Italy. Funded by the Beef Checkoff Program, USMEF’s efforts included sharing product information and fielding inquiries from professionals in Europe’s food and beverage industry.

A meat case inside USMEF’s booth at the TuttoFood show displayed U.S. beef aimed at the European retail sector

USMEF Senior Vice President for Trade Access Thad Lively’s attendance at the show allowed him to discuss the status of the EU’s duty-free beef quota and other market issues with visitors to USMEF’s display. Monty Brown, USMEF representative in the region, said a majority of the visitors to USMEF’s booth were from Italian and French companies, though all 28 European Union member states were represented at the event. Having a presence at the biennial show came at a crucial time, he added.

“We saw this as an opportunity to re-emphasize to retailers and other players in the European market that the U.S. beef industry remains committed to the EU,” said Brown. “This message is of particular importance today, as the U.S. and the EU are going through another round of discussions related to beef trade and the duty-free is being exhausted before the end of the period. Such situations can create uncertainty among market players.”

The TuttoFood Show confirmed that high-quality beef is winning favor in Europe, and USMEF plans to keep U.S. beef well-represented in the market

Despite these market challenges, USMEF was pleased to see U.S. beef featured at many of the exhibition stands at TuttoFood – either as primal cuts for wholesale and HRI, or as portion-control steaks for retail companies.

“It seems European consumers have become aware of the high-quality beef available in the market and are now keen to see those products represented in their local retail chains,” said Brown. “From USMEF’s perspective, the next step is to take this consumer trend and provide a much wider representation of U.S. beef in the EU retail sector through partnerships with distributors and retailers.”
At TuttoFood, USMEF spent time with smaller companies who are selling U.S. products – from burgers to steaks – and discussed marketing ideas to help move more of them.

Brown explained that it is important to remind EU companies that U.S. pork is also available, and USMEF distributed pork brochures and other information on U.S. pork at TuttoFood.

USMEF met with retailers and managers in Europe’s HRI sector to discuss trade and U.S. beef at the TuttoFood Show