The Butcher Shop, Colombia’s Essential Meat Market Asset

When restaurants closed during the pandemic, Colombian consumers looked to substitute high quality eating experiences at home.

With support from the United States Department of Agriculture, the National Pork Board and the Beef Checkoff Program, the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) is partnering with many butcher shops in Colombia to improve the merchandising of U.S. meat.

“About 50% or more of the meat that comes into Colombia is sold through butcher shops owned by, or in a contractual arrangement with, some of our importers. The U.S. livestock industry delivers excellent quality, completely safe products right to the docks in Colombia,” said USMEF’s Colombia representative Don Mason.

Mason explains that USMEF efforts are focused on extending the quality and safety of the meat from the ports to the final customer. This includes helping Colombians understand that meat is frozen to guarantee a better-quality product, given the distribution network in the country, as well as how they should handle and defrost that meat properly.

USMEF has been involved in helping local butcher shops gain sales and encourage sustainability of these businesses. When restaurants were closed, “I saw barbeque grills popping up on balconies all over Bogota. Those folks wanted good quality meat to put on those barbecue grills,” Mason said.

By tiding over consumers during the pandemic, Mason hopes to see an increase in restaurant business and to the desire for high quality meat at home to be maintained.