A selection of top quality pork cuts from Britain will be heading to America and Asia for two of the world’s biggest trade shows.
The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) will be exhibiting at the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago, in a bid to expand the British pork sector’s presence in the US.
Meanwhile, British meat from will also be highlighted in Hong Kong and China this month at the food and hospitality trade shows Hofex and SIAL.
Held at Chicago’s McCormick Place from 20 – 23 May, the National Restaurant Show is the meeting point and largest gathering of the huge North American food service sector – bringing together more than 67,000 professionals from around the world.
AHDB will present a range of high welfare, differentiated pork products, as well as offering tastings for the trade buyers. There will also be cooking demonstrations from professional chef Jill Houk.
In 2016, the UK exported 8,177 tonnes of pork to the USA worth £23 million – an increase of 30% in value compared to 2015.
AHDB Export Manager Susana Morris said: “Over the last couple of years, we have been able to carve a profitable niche in the US pork market by proposing differentiated added value products with a great story.
“We have been particularly successful with some restaurant chains. Hence, we believe that our presence at the NRA show will reinforce our position as a dependable producer of high welfare outdoor bred pork with a high level of production control.
“To emphasise the message of ‘a different kind of pork’, we will be presenting innovative cuts, prepared for tastings in original ways.”
In Hong Kong, the AHDB pavilion will be using the Food is GREAT branding to prominently fly the flag. This year, the event features more than 2,500 exhibitors from 57 countries – attracting around 50,000 buyers and will include a number of butchery, cookery and PR events to demonstrate the great taste and quality of meat from Britain in the face of fierce international competition.
AHDB Pork will then head to Shanghai for SIAL 2017, China’s largest food innovation exhibition, which runs from 17 – 19 May.