Scottish beef industry given positive message on US market potential
Richard Brown, from Gira meat club, an international consultancy and research firm, delivered a positive message to delegates at the Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers (SAMW) conference in Glasgow this week.
Brown said a sharp decline in US net production of beef offered a huge opportunity for the Scotch beef brand, if it were to gain access to the country.
US net beef production has fallen from 12 million tonnes in 2013, to almost 10 million tonnes in 2015, Brown reported, which is offering an opportunity for more imports.
"Our forecast for the production of US beef is one of absolute dramatic decline," Brown said. "This is the fruition of quite a few years of a lot of people not making much money, the feed prices going through the roof and serious droughts in parts of the country – it has all ended up with this sharp decline in production.
"We are expecting a recovery, but that is a very dramatic decline for the largest beef producer in the world."
Brown also told delegates that the reputation of Scotch Beef was a valuable selling point around the world.
The optimistic presentation was welcomed by the Scottish beef industry, which is hoping to follow in Ireland’s footsteps after being the first European country to gain access to the US market since 1998.
