During the pandemic, everyone had to get more creative on how to reach consumers, says Lucia Ruano, U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) representative in Central America and the Dominican Republic.
Central America has been a star performer for U.S. beef and pork exports in 2021. Through August, beef exports to the region were nearly 60% above last year (13,000 metric tons, +59%) while pork exports were up 46% (to 87,500 metric tons) from the record pace of 2020.
Ruano says new channels and delivery platforms have helped increase U.S. meat product sales in Central America. Restaurant restrictions during the pandemic caused consumers to seek more high-quality protein options for cooking at home, leading to surging retail demand for U.S. pork and beef.
“People used to just eat U.S. meat in the restaurants. They were used to that. But now we’ve been reaching these end consumers that are very happy to learn how they can cook their cuts at home,” she says. “We have gained more customers. This has helped to increase the volume of consumption in each of the countries even though we had a lot of restrictions during the pandemic.”
Purchases through home-delivery apps, which are relatively new to the region, also increased dramatically. USMEF helped U.S. exporters and their clients capitalize on these trends by making consumers aware of U.S. meat products available in their area.
Tarriff-Free U.S. Red Meat
Ruano says nearly all U.S. red meat now enters Central America at zero duty under the U.S.-Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), making U.S. pork and beef more affordable. This has been especially beneficial for Select grade U.S. beef cuts, which were the last category of products to reach zero-duty status under CAFTA-DR.
People can now see for themselves the difference between U.S. beef and its competitors, she adds.
“Pork already is in the 0%, but even when it had the tariff, it was cheaper to import pork from the U.S. then to use the local or domestic pork, but now it’s even more affordable,” Ruano says.
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