Colombia continues to be a bright spot for U.S. pork exports

The U.S. Meat Export Federation says Colombia remains a great export market for U.S. pork.

Homero Recio, the USMEF Latin American representative, says pork exports are up 48 percent. “The overall pig, it’s like a puzzle,” he says. “It has different parts, different pieces and certain markets around the world take different pieces of that puzzle. Colombia is taking parts and pieces that are critical to come off the US market. The ends of loin products, some trimmings.”

He tells Brownfield a recently developed promotion, the Boston Butt Burger, has been incredibly successful and has helped scale demand for Boston butts. “Things like that, finding a niche in the market,” he says. “Just sitting back and looking to see what the opportunities are and then finding partners from the US as well as Colombian partners to make it a reality.”

Recio says there’s also an opportunity for U.S. beef to reclaim market share in Colombia after imports of U.S. beef were temporarily banned earlier this year because of the outbreak of H5N1 in dairy cattle. “That ban was rescinded in late September, and now there is a renewed interest to bringing in and reviving US exports to Colombia,” he says. “We hope to see some differences in the first quarter of next year.”

He says USMEF also works to teach proper preparation of products, which has also helped grow demand for U.S. pork and beef.

Recio spoke to Brownfield from the 2024 US Meat Export Federation Strategic Planning Conference in Tucson, Arizona.