USMEF expanding red meat demand in emerging and established markets

West Africa and Japan are pretty far removed, both in geography and when it comes to red meat exports. But both regions recently celebrated successes that illustrate the work the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) does on a daily basis to diversify demand for U.S. pork, beef and lamb, both in emerging markets and with well established trading partners.

Africa is a logical place to look to build demand. Current exports to the region are limited, mostly variety meats. But there is a growing middle class that is demanding higher quality protein and a blooming infrastructure eager to meet that demand.

USMEF recently brought 30 exporter members to Ghana to meet directly with buyers from 12 countries in its first-ever West Africa Trade Seminar. For two days, the buyers and sellers heard from USMEF and USDA leadership, the U.S. cattle industry and successful meat businesses in Africa. The highlight, however, were the face-to-face, speed-dating” style sessions to talk sales, logistics and product.

“I’ve been working Africa for 15 years, and I have met nine people in one day who are established businesses in Senegal, in Ivory Coast, who I had not met before,” said Robert Preska of Minnesota-based Lamex Food Group. “We have several people in high-end restaurants who are interested in high-quality beef, and we’re really trying to work to get some samples to them by air freight. It’s going to be very difficult to sell them a full container right away. But if we can get some samples to them, we could be talking about moving some containers of primal cuts over here.”

USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom compares West Africa today to the promise of Mexico 20 years ago. “If you look at the growing population, the growing middle class, there’s a lot of opportunity for the future in terms of spending power,” Halstrom said. “And that’s what we’re hoping to capitalize on is the potential spending power over here because you have one of the youngest demographics in the world and one of the fastest growing
populations in the world.”

Every meal at the Africa seminar featured U.S. beef and pork, offering many of the buyers their first taste of U.S. muscle cuts. While Africa offers a longer term look at diversification through market development, USMEF often finds opportunities to diversify demand through finding new markets within established markets. Japan offers a couple of recent examples.

A persistently weak yen, inflation and rising prices have pressured Japanese foodservice chains to pursue less-expensive ingredients, especially in value-oriented sectors. Nationwide chain Ramen Kagetsu, which operates 250 stores throughout Japan, had used European sheet belly for a Cantonese-style barbecued pork ramen dish. Pressured by price, the chain worked with USMEF to develop and test a switch to U.S. pork false lean, an underutilized cut taken from the shoulder end of the loin.

The company anticipates utilizing 40 metric tons of the product each month.

Likewise, restaurant chain Kairikiya, with 160 Japanese outlets, switched from Mexican picnic to U.S. pork cushion meat for one of its most popular ramen menu items. That switch is anticipated to utilize 1,000 mt of U.S. pork cushion this year.

Japan is the third-largest volume market for U.S. pork exports in 2025 and No. 2 in value. These new menu items show there is still opportunity to find new markets for new products and build demand for every part of the carcass.