The U.S. Meat Export Federation has been working to increase the consumption of pork in homes in Mexico, especially as exports to Mexico have set records for the past five years with greater demand through restaurants. USMEF Regional Director for Mexico and Central America, Gerardo Rodriguez explains, “The percentage is lower than what we thought. So we get to find out that it’s 12% of the total amount of pork that is only the one that is cooked at home. So what does that mean? Yes, it’s a great opportunity for us of growing in this niche. Price is not an issue. So availability is not the issue. So the issue is education. The issue is they need to learn how to cook it correctly.”
“So we want to do this venture or joint venture with this kitchen appliance and we can demonstrate to the consumer that at home is very easy, very convenient, very versatile how to cook pork. We are going to adapt those trucks or the 18-wheeler in where we are going to include and add how to cook it with an instant pot or with a pan fryer or we’re going to be using all the thermal mix and all these kind of kitchen appliance. So this is going to be giving us the opportunity to have the same key audience, but to know that the same cut, it can be cooked in different ways. And if we grow that percentage of pork being cooked at home, I think that it’s going to move the needle in a tremendous way,” said Rodriguez.
Audio Reporting by Dale Sandlin for Southeast AgNet.