Thirty farmers and ranchers have returned from a trip to Japan with the U.S. Meat Export Federation. The group met with buyers of U.S. meat products, as well as consumers. It was a timely trip with the signing of a trade agreement between the U.S. and China. “It’s going to result in nearly a 30 percent reduction in tariffs and put us on a level playing field with our competitors, mainly Australia,” says USMEF Chairman Cevin Jones. An American style of grilling is being promoted in Japan, particularly with beef. That’s why Jones remains optimistic about U.S. meat exports going in to 2020. “It puts us in a great position for both beef and pork. Right now, we might finish out 2019 with double digit growth in pork exports. We also had a record export year for beef the year prior.” Listen to the interview.
