EU sheepmeat is ready to enter the US market
US authorities decided to scrap a ban placed more than 25 years ago on EU sheepmeat. Some of the main producers in the EU are already considering launching promotional campaigns in the American market to encourage sheepmeat consumption among US consumers. Bord Bia says it will begin to promote Irish lamb and other sheepmeat in the US “in coming months” as a premium product there.
“Through engaging with key importers and customers over the coming months we will pave the way for the launch of lamb in the US. This is vital at a time when diversification into international markets has never been more important to optimise the value returned to Irish producers,” said Henry Horkan, Bord Bia’s manager in the US, quoted by the IrishTime newspaper. Irish officials from the Department of Agriculture and Bord Bia will lead a trade mission to the US in the spring, which will include meetings with US lamb importers.
The US market for lamb and mutton imports is €886 million, according to Bord Bia. New Zealand supplies more than three-quarters of this, with Australia accounting for the rest up to 99%. The market for imports is said to be growing at about 3% annually.
Data released by USDA in the last couple of years show Americans consume small amounts of lamb compared to other meats. A study showed that in 2017 the average American consumed 48.8kg of chicken annually, 25.8kg of beef, 23.6kg of pork, but only 0.4kg of lamb.
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