Source: The National Pork Board
The National Pork Board International Marketing Committee has returned to the United States from their recent trade mission to Asia, calling the trip a complete success. The Pork Checkoff team gained valuable market insight, built lasting relationships and elevated U.S. pork as the global protein of choice on their tour of Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Macau. 

“Pork is the No. 1 most-consumed protein in the world, and that was obvious on this mission,” says Bill Luckey, a pork producer from Columbus, Neb., and chair of the Pork Checkoff’s International Marketing Committee. “As the committee allocates Pork Checkoff dollars to international marketing, it is important to see how these dollars are working today and how we might better target producer resources in emerging markets in the future.”

With U.S. pork production again breaking records in 2018, the Pork Checkoff is committed to growing pork demand both domestically and in international markets. Singapore and Vietnam are developing markets for U.S. pork and present huge opportunities for export growth in the coming years. In 2017, U.S. pork exports to Singapore increased almost 20% from 2016, reaching $17 million. Last year, the United States also exported over $11 million of fresh/chilled/frozen bone-in hams and shoulders to Vietnam.

“Consumers in Vietnam and Singapore are rapidly increasing pork in their diets, with pork consumption on trend to overtake seafood consumption in both markets as the No. 1 protein,” says Craig Morris, the Pork Checkoff’s vice president of international marketing. “This provides a great opportunity to capture a rapidly increasing market share, but we must first understand the changing consumer and retail landscapes in these countries to meet consumer needs and expectations.”

While in Singapore, the committee learned that U.S. pork often is positioned as a premium product, with high-end U.S. pork selling for three to five times more than the price of competitors’ products. Also, pre-prepared and processed foods are becoming popular as consumers seek convenience to meet their increasingly busy, urban lifestyles.

“U.S. pork can succeed in Singapore by delivering a high-quality product packaged in small portions and in convenient, ready-to-cook formats,” Morris says.

Pre-prepared and processed foods are becoming popular in Singapore as consumers seek convenience to meet their increasingly busy, urban lifestyles.