"Anuga exhibition is always an excellent framework for its great size, quality and varied offer" INAC's chairman said in Cologne, Germany, where the main food exhibition in the European Union has come to an end.
In the case of meats, all relevant countries in the world meat market were present, both considering beef and sheep meat (these usually go together) as well as pork and poultry.
A strong presence of cold cuts, sausages and manufactured products was observed together with the participation of countries with institutional stands, and individual companies –with or without their countries of origin-.
As regards meat, as usual Uruguay showed itself through a well-designed stand, which hosted 16 of the leading exporting processing plants, and other exporting companies, traders and brokers.
In the opinion of those who attended this year, there were fewer visitors, not necessarily entailing the market shows any negative signs, but that for some reason actors were not so actively making business operations. However, the main customers visited INAC's stand.
INAC’s chairman Federico Stanham stated the Institute took advantage of the exhibition to preserve relationships with attending interlocutors, and this year there was a special discussion about the World Meat Congress to be held in Punta del Este in November 2016.
“The general impression we got this year concerning the circumstances of the international market is that there have been some situations that must be analyzed to see how they will affect the market in the weeks to come", the chairman of the National Meat Institute said.
“In particular, the issued discussed are a great volume of Australian meat stocked up in USA and the more aggressive commercial actions of Brazil in China. It has to be clear that these circumstances occur in any sector and that they are characteristic and part of the routine. In general it is agreed that Australia will have a lower offer in the short-term and for some time.", INAC's chairman explained.
The important thing is to look at the context more generally, Stanham also said. “What we have confirmed from different conversations is that the beef offer is not showing any signs of significant increase in the short term and demand remains steady. Especially, there is growing interest for the meats that identify Uruguay, namely, natural meats without any hormones or antibiotics. Natural meat may be obtained from animals finished on grass or on grains, but the other features mentioned must be highlighted.
We have observed that all customers have a great respect for what Uruguay does, the product is important as well as price is, but also the professionalism of Uruguayan exporters, their fulfillment of commitments, which are significant differences at the time of choosing suppliers. This is the view of buyers from the European Union, Israel, Russia and other countries."
